Flying Dutchman

WHEN Rangers manager Dick Advocaat departed for Paris 28 minutes before the final whistle, he did so with a glint in his eye and a skip in his normally taciturn step. Yesterday's dress rehearsal ahead of a crucial series of games which could determine his future had already yielded four goals and the mis-match comprehensively won.

Had Advocaat left at half time the little Dutchman would have been considerably less happy, his side having made heavy weather of overcoming Dunfermline's token resistance, but three goals at the start of the second half amid some sparkling attacking football lifted the air of boredom at the ground.

The last passage of play Advocaat witnessed was the best, and should have brought his side a fifth goal as Fernando Ricksen, Claudio Reyna and Tore Andre Flo crisply set up Claudio Caniggia, but as he travelled to watch Thursday night's Uefa Cup opponents Paris St Germain play Guingamp, Advocaat would have reflected on the rude good health of his side.

The games between now and December 6, which include a visit to Celtic Park and conclude with the return Uefa tie against PSG in Paris, have assumed monumental importance for both manager and club. Advocaat, who is being courted by the Dutch Federation to fill the vacancy which will be created by the expected departure of Louis van Gaal as Holland manager, has not yet decided where his future lies, but his mind is likely to be made up by the outcome of the next five games, which also include a CIS Cup game at Ross County and an SPL fixture against Dundee at Dens Park.

Although Craig Moore is currently away on international duty with Australia, Advocaat has virtually a full squad fit and available for the rigours ahead. After motoring so well in recent weeks, they are unlucky to find themselves still seven SPL points adrift of a Celtic side which cannot stop winning. To fall ten behind, and perhaps also slip out of the Uefa Cup, would make the winter months bleak indeed for Advocaat if he and chairman David Murray decide to stick with the status quo.

Still, Advocaat had several reasons to be optimistic as he travelled to France. His side could easily have notched up seven goals yesterday had Caniggia taken the potential hat-trick that was set up for him, and rarely can Diego Maradona's mate have missed two such simple chances as he did in the first half. Against that Caniggia gave the unfortunate Youssef Rossi a terrible skinning down the right flank, and he provided the cross from which Shota Arveladze, this time being marked by Rossi, scored a fortunate opener in just five minutes.

From that point on, despite Barry Nicholson forcing Stefan Klos to make a good save on the half hour, there was never the remotest chance of Dunfermline securing their first victory at Ibrox since 1972, when a less portly Jim Leishman scored the winner.

The cutting edge which was missing from Rangers' otherwise pleasing play in the first half arrived with a vengeance in the second. Three goals in eight minutes, the first two from Flo and the last from Arveladze, gave the scoreline a gloss which sent Advocaat away purring.

Flo's 50th minute poke past Marco Ruitenbeek was further confirmation of his growing confidence, the lanky striker doggedly holding off Andrius Skerla and picking the perfect moment to dispatch the ball into the net. There was also evidence of his improved opportunism in the box when he notched his second after Lorenzo Amoruso had knocked down a Caniggia corner.

The last goal by Arveladze was created by a delightful through ball from Ricksen, surely Rangers' most improved player this season. When Advocaat left the ground a few minutes later the show was already over, sparing Dunfermline further embarrassment.

To give the visitors their due they didn't turn up merely hoping to contain, howeverdespite manager Jimmy Calderwood's protestations to the contrary his side was over-run in all areas of the pitch. Ian Ferguson received a warm ovation from his former supporters when he was subbed after the fourth goal, but his contribution in the midfield was negligible and helped Rangers to pour men forward and provide ammunition for their hard running front three.

A dismal afternoon for the visitors was completed near the end when Rossi was dismissed for his second yellow card offence, but by that time the curtain had come down on a one-sided affair.

Bert van Lingen, standing in for Advocaat after the match, was delighted with his side's effort. "It was good preparation," he said of the tests that now lurk ahead. "It helps in our confidence and we can go on in this way.

"We could have scored more goals in the first half, but in the second period we finished it off with some exciting moments. We were playing in the way we are trying to develop and had some excellent football."

As Advocaat pointed out in his programme notes, it was on his recommendation that Dunfermline appointed Calderwood, his old sparring partner in Dutch football. But the normally ebullient Fife manager was unconvincing in his post-match analysis that his side had gifted the goals to Rangers; the chance for Nicholson aside, his team contributed little to the proceedings other than providing the home side with a morale-boosting run-out.

Rangers will be without the cup-tied Arveladze on Thursday night, but with Flo now banging in the goals - yesterday brought his 12th and 13th in 12 SPL games - and a fresh Ronald de Boer returning to the fray, Advocaat and his side are in good shape for the PSG challenge. Then come Celtic next Sunday in the latest biggest Old Firm game of the season.

There has been a cheeriness about the Rangers manager since last weekend's break, and as he headed happily for Paris the smart money must be on him extending a stay in Scotland which brought five trophies in two seasons before Martin O'Neill arrived in Glasgow.

Copyright 2001
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