Just how makeshift can one team be???!!!

Boumsong gave us the defensive rock upon which our early-season doubts were crushed. Then Jean-Alain left - we looked desperately to the reserves to replace him. Can we believe how well Marvin Andrews did! Then we went to Athens with our shopping trolley and we can’t believe how well Cup Final hero Kyrgiakos has settled in.

World Class Klos came a cropper in training and is out for the season - we replaced him with the surprisingly competent Waterreus … but he’s just here til the end of the season.

We struggled til January without a midfield lynchpin. Eventually Barry Ferguson came back … and is carrying an injury.

Alan Hutton played his way back into the side brilliantly and solved our right-back problem, better known as Maurice Ross. Then young Alan went and broke his leg … he’ll be out for the rest of the season then!

Michael Ball sorted out the terms with Everton and got over his injuries to take over from Vignal at left-back. This allowed Vignal to take a marauding midfield berth which was the difference at Parkhead. Not only did Gregory score the vital penalty against Maritimo which saved McLeish’s job - he then went and scored the opening goal in our pivotal SPL victory away to Celtic …

And now Gregory’s leaving at the end of the season.

And now Marvin’s deciding he’ll play on with a cruciate knee-ligament injury.

Jeeze! “We’ve got eight cup finals left”. My words, the players’ words, the manager’s words - everybody’s words: Rangers have 8 meaningful games left this season … at the most. To be playing with a few second choice players hasn’t worked out badly so far. But now one of them knows he’s leaving and the other knows he’s injured.

Gregory wants to p*ss off? Fair enough - he’s earned his shout for a decent offer with his all-action performances. If he didn’t get it then that “big name Bundesliga club (Must be Borussia Moenchengladbach then, eh?!) are entitled to swoop him away to Deutschland. But it’s up to him exactly how fondly we remember him. Shirking the battle for the SPL title will not go down well. And, to be honest, a man who’s played his football in three foreign countries from such a young age will undoubtedly be well aware of how fleeting his own memories of a club can be - when he dissapears to another nation altogether: He won’t want to injure himself while he’s an unwanted Liverpool player without a permanent deal signed anywhere else.

Big Marv. Faith healer extrordinaire. I love the Big Guy - especially coz of his commitment - but I’ll be interested to see how even someone who subscribes so dementedly to that bunkum known as Christianty can cope with good old-fashioned earthly , matter-of-fact, pain. Jumping for a high-ball with Chris Sutton or John Heartson very quickly removes the”meta-” and leaves you with just the “-physical”

It’s strange to hear a first team player declare himself UNfit before returning to action. That Rangers allowed him to do this is either a pre-emptive excuse for inevitabel defensive howlers or it’s a bit of gamesmanship.

I hope it’s the latter.

The Gers team dropping like flies but the replacements picking up the baton with renewed, unexpected vigour and ensuring the Championship would still be ours. Sound familiar? Ahh, Marv - if you have to sum up one spirit, dont waste your time on all this “Jesus” nonsense, Big Man - make it the spirit of 91.