Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley has defended Walter Smiths controversial tactics saying they have been vindicated by reaching tonight’s UEFA cup final.
Rangers style was famously referred to as ‘Anti Football’ by Lionel Messi when Barcelona met them in Europe last year.
Hateley accepts that Rangers football may not be pretty, and says “We’ve had unfair criticism for long periods of this season of the way Rangers play football, But you play to your strengths.”
He does not expect Smith to change his tactics for the final, suggesting that Rangers will stick with the lone striker and hope to frustrate the Zenit St Petersburg with a strong packed defence, relying on the long ball forward to create their own chances.
Despite the style of football Hateley believes the current squad compares favourably with the Rangers team that he was part of when he joined them from Monaco in 1990. He went on to win nine successive Scottish titles with a team that included the likes of Paul Gascoine and Brian Laudrup.
“They are two different teams” says Hateley “But this team has got further than that team, so you would say this team on paper, stat-wise is a better team.”
Rangers have Daniel Cousins suspended for tonight’s game, while Zenit’s top scorer Pavel Pogrebnyak also misses the game through suspension.
1 comment so far
1 AntiManu // May 14, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I don’t think the tactics matter - it is the result and revenue that goes with it. Good Luck to Rangers and lets hope it is the only European cup final celebration seen in Manchester this season!