Terry Butcher says Hibs are favourites for second spot over Rangers
Tuesday 24 March 2015 18:13, UK
Terry Butcher believes Hibernian are still in the driving seat in the race for second place in the Scottish Championship despite losing to fellow promotion chasers Rangers last week.
The Easter Road side went down 2-0 at home to Stuart McCall’s men on Sunday to leave them three points clear of the Glasgow giants but having played a game more.
With Hearts having already clinched the title and automatic promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking, it leaves the two sides directly below them fighting it out for the runners-up spot and prime play-off position.
Former Hibs boss Butcher was also a key member of the Graeme Souness revolution at Rangers in the 1980s but reckons it is the Edinburgh side who are best placed to clinch second spot, which he believes gives teams the best possible chance of promotion.
He said: “They lost against Rangers last Sunday and that was obviously a major blow considering they had beaten them three times out of three in the league before that so Rangers, with Stuart McCall now in charge - he drew his first two games and then won that game last week - they’ve got a bit of momentum but I would still say Hibs are in the driving seat.
“You want to finish second because you play the game against the winners of the third and fourth play-off, you play away first then at home, and you have home advantage for the second game and that’s normally pretty crucial so you want to try finish second if you possibly can.”
Butcher also believes McCall was the right appointment to take over in the Ibrox dugout and to breathe fresh life into the Rangers promotion push after a turbulent campaign on and off the pitch.
“I said a few weeks ago that Rangers are doing well off the pitch,” he said. “The new consortium is in, they are changing things round behind the scenes in the boardroom but they need to change things on the pitch and they needed someone in like a Stuart McCall to try and lift it on the pitch.
“He changed it round (against Hibs). According to reports he went 3-5-2 with three at the back to nullify Hibs’ front two and got an early goal. It was a bit of a lucky one with the way it fell to Lee Wallace, and as a former Hearts player he’d be pretty happy to score that, and then it was nip and tuck between the two sides.
“But going one up gives a team an advantage and it could’ve been a foul at the second goal possibly but Kenny Miller made sure at 2-0 and it was a vital win in many respects because Rangers have got a bit of momentum now.
“They can see the fact that it was a good win for them, a morale-boosting win for them as well, and the players they have there, it’s not that they are reborn but they are rejuvenated and Stuart has done that very, very well.
“He did that at Motherwell, had to really balance the books, had to change teams round and he is a good man-manager too.
“He’s got experience, he’s Rangers through and through, he knows what it means, and gets a lot of respect from the fans and from the players. He’s been over the course before in terms of getting Rangers to titles and cups.
“It’s a different role for him really and it’s a role that he wouldn’t have envisaged with the club in such a financially perilous position but he’s got character, Stuart, and he’s a winner. He gets players playing and gets the best out of players. Not that Ally McCoist didn’t - they are two legends at Ibrox - but it’s a different scene for him now and with Kenny Black, an ex-Rangers player there as his No 2, he’s got good experience behind him.”
Rangers have got a bit of momentum but I would still say Hibs are in the driving seat
Butcher, who captained Rangers to three title wins, is also happy to see the club make strides off the pitch with Dave King recently ousting the former board at Ibrox.
Paul Murray, John Gilligan and one member of the Three Bears consortium, Douglas Park, now sit on the board while King will take up the chairmanship providing he satisfies both the SFA and Stock Exchange’s fit and proper person tests.
Butcher said: “I think it’s good because he’s got the fans back together with the club – there’s now a way forward off the pitch. Now with that result last week especially it seems as though there is a way on the pitch too.
“Rangers want to get up this year; Hibs want to get back up this year too, so it’s a great fight to have. If you look at Scottish football, Celtic will probably win the title, could win all three trophies this year, and then who is going to get relegated? But there is more of a focus now about who is going to get promoted from that Championship.
“They are just about surviving now, they are going from month to month in many aspects but the fans hope and everybody hopes that Dave King will come in with the board and stabilise things there, get investors, get some money into the club and make sure they have the funds necessary to either get promotion next year or try this year to get through and then rebuild the squad as well.
“It’s going to take a long time for Rangers - they are talking about getting to Europe and finishing as the second best team - it’s still going to take a long while for them to do that but getting promoted will certainly help.”
