Arthur Numan

[ian1964 10,419]

Arthur Numan may not be considered thus by Rangers fans who witnessed him collect eight trophies in five seasons at Ibrox - particularly now that the Dutchman has made his home in Scotland - but the 38-year-old believes his former club should be looking to expand their horizons.

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Ironically, considering he was speaking in order to publicise broadcasters Setanta's exclusive rights to tomorrow night's Old Firm game, Numan played down the importance of that particular encounter and argued that Walter Smith should make winning the Uefa Cup the club's priority.

 

Numan is of the opinion that winning the SPL title is a done deal and that local bragging rights should take a back seat to preparing properly for the visit of semi-final opponents Fiorentina in nine days' time.

 

"For me the Uefa Cup is, without a doubt, the most important competition," Numan said. "Winning that would be a bigger achievement than five league titles put together.

 

"Rangers have won 51 league titles, but how many European trophies have they won? Just the one.

 

"In this country everyone is so focused on the league but when you look at the teams Rangers have already beaten in Europe this season you realise what this would mean.

 

"It would also be good for Scotland as a country. Celtic and Rangers have already reached the last 16 of the Champions League and the national team has also been improving.

 

"To be honest, I've been surprised by how well Rangers have done and I'd be lying if I said I was the only one. No-one expected them to get this far.

 

"The home-grown players at the Old Firm know what it means to play for Rangers or Celtic but maybe you need to think like a foreigner to win the Uefa Cup.

 

"I remember losing 5-1 at Parkhead in my first Old Firm game and afterwards Ian Ferguson just went mental. He even said he would rather beat Celtic four times each season than win the league.

 

"But the club is now just two games away from going to Manchester for the final and that would be fantastic. It should be their priority."

 

Celtic's management and staff claim that retaining their title remains a possibility, but Numan gives the impression that opinion is right up there with Scientology as far as questionable beliefs are concerned. "At the moment Rangers are four points clear with two games in hand," Numan said. "The way they're playing just now, realistically that puts them 10 points clear with just six games left.

 

"Celtic have been losing a lot of games recently while Rangers have lost just one of their last 30 matches. So there's no need for them to worry -Rangers can afford to lose both games at Parkhead and still win the title.

 

"Of course, that would make life a little more difficult for them because that's when the pressure comes. I remember in 2003 we were eight points clear with nine games left and then we lost twice to Celtic and drew with Dundee after missing two penalties.

 

"That meant it came down to goal difference and we beat Dunfermline 6-1 while Celtic won 4-0 at Kilmarnock. But I don't think that will happen this time."

 

Numan has been impressed by the resilience of Rangers since Smith's return, but doesn't doubt that the team he played in was superior in almost every respect. "We were a far better team and we also played better football," he said. "The strength of the current group is that they are well-organised and play as a unit.They're hard to beat and they don't give a lot of goals away."

 

"My one regret is that the Rangers team I played in never made it past the first stage of the Champions League, especially when you look at the squad we had."

[Hurlock 0]

Tried to resolve that advertisement link/image for you Ian but it wouldn't convert for me:

 

 

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[Hurlock 0]

Is this it Ian:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2008/04/15/sfnran115.xml

[ian1964 10,419]

Is this it Ian:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2008/04/15/sfnran115.xml

 

Aye,that's it mate,cheers