In a clear pitch to get his old mate Alex McLeish a job Alex Rae believes that the main priority for the next Sevco manager is to bring in dignity!
The former St Mirren boss picked up £569,000 in EBT payments during a two year playing stint at Ibrox in one of the most undignified periods in Scottish football history.
McLeish, the manager who signed Rae from Wolves in 2004, enjoyed £1.7m from the same tax scam that was exposed as unlawful by the Supreme Court in July.
Backdated tax, penalties and interest could bring Her Majesty a £2m windfall with Rae and others anxiously awaiting Hectors next move.
The so called EBT years led to the old club going into liquidation but with a blink of the eye Rae and others have forgotten that episode as they yearn for the good old days of cheating Her Majesty in order to beat Celtic to trophies.
After explaining shouting ‘ya effin beauty’ to a pal after shaking hands with Neil Lennon and Martin O’Neill Rae told the Daily Record: “We win and lose with dignity. This is Glasgow Rangers.’
“Now I was 35 at the time but I was like a wee boy going ‘aye, you’re right gaffer’. But it was a brilliant thing to say. It’s about how you carry yourself and how you behave. It’s Rangers that you’re representing.
“Alex understood the importance of that and he made sure everyone else did too.
“One of the key things at the beginning of my first season, which was brilliant, was when all the players were given a leather binder with the history of the club inside.
“It told you where the club started, where it was first situated and it had two DVDs giving a run down from the black-and-white days through to winning the Cup Winners’ Cup and John Greig then on to nine-in-row and all the Trebles that the club have won.
“So all of a sudden you’ve got an understanding of what the club’s about – and then at the back there was a Code of Conduct listing what it takes to be a Rangers player and what you represent. It was outstanding.
“I felt as if I already knew because I’d followed the team as a supporter and been at the club as an apprentice as a boy but you can’t understand the dynamics until you play for them.”
Rae added: “You look at Mark Warburton when he came in, if they got a draw he would speak positively about how they dominated the game.
“He couldn’t quite grasp the fact that a draw wasn’t good enough – it was a rude awakening for these guys.
“When you look at Pedro Caixinha’s quotes and some of the stories coming out – it was the right decision for him to go.
“This is a really important time for the Rangers board because they really need to get it right on the back of these two previous appointments.
“They need to get back to basics by bringing in someone who knows the club and McInnes would be a safe pair of hands who would bring stability.
“But having worked with big Alex McLeish I know what he’d bring.
“When you look at his achievements in England – a top nine finish in the Premier League and also winning the League Cup with Birmingham – it speaks for itself but whoever comes in will have a difficult job and that’s why it needs to be someone who really understands the responsibility he’s taking on.
“It goes back to what I was saying about the book they gave us. It’s Rangers you’re representing.”
