ian1964 10,411 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 By Andrew Dickson LEE McCULLOCH hopes he might have a future as a defensive midfielder after impressing in that role for Rangers last night. The former Wigan star turned out in the position against Aberdeen last month and produced an excellent performance in the Light Blues' 0-0 draw at Pittodrie. Lee McCullochHe had another outing there yesterday in the 2-2 friendly draw with AC Milan and once more gave a good account of himself. Having linked up with Pedro Mendes and Mo Edu in the engine room against the Rossoneri, McCulloch is looking to build on the progress he has made. The 30-year-old has been used everywhere by Gers in the last 18 months except at full-back and in goals. But while he maintains he'll happily play wherever Walter Smith puts him, it goes without saying that he's determined to make a place in the team his own. McCulloch said: "It was good to sit in midfield with Pedro and Maurice in front of me. I really enjoyed it. "I think when I'm playing either at the back or as a defensive midfielder, I can influence the game a little bit more. "I don't get to do that if I'm playing wide on the left or the right and I'm not really a winger, although I know the manager has his reasons for putting me there sometimes. "I'll go out and play to the best of my abilities wherever I'm used and I'll play anywhere to get a game. "But against Milan I thought I did really well in that sitting role and I'm really pleased with how things went for me. Lee McCulloch tackles Ronaldinho"I didn't think I would play as many games as I did last season so it's not a great surprise to me that I've been used less over the last few months. "But the gaffer knows I want to play. There's not one particular position I feel I should be used in or aiming for and I'll go with whatever decision the manager makes." McCulloch and his Rangers team-mates took plenty of heart from their meeting with Carlo Ancelotti's Serie A superstars. DaMarcus Beasley gave the hosts a second-half lead and Sasa Papac secured a draw after Alexandre Pato and Kaka struck for the Italians. McCulloch added: "I thought we did really well in the first half and that we passed the ball around to the same standard as Milan. "In the second half, they probably came into the game a little bit more and really showed their quality. "The players they brought on are fantastic but we played some good stuff and showed great spirit so I'd say 2-2 was probably a fair result overall." 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 He might want to try playing in goals next as he is very average as an outfield player IMO....... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 He has done well both times he has played defensive midfield, last night and Aberdeen. Whether it is a good idea to try and move him to that position permanently I am unsure. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,411 Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 TBH, this must be the easiest position to play,Lennon did for years and he isn't what you would describe as a great footballer 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 He has done OK the last couple of games fair enough but he hasn't been outstanding in that role which I agree with Ian as in it's not a hard role to play. I thought Edu was much better than him last night and would give you more in that role if needed. I don't however see why you need a defensive midfielder in the SPL, what is the point unless you are not playing to win games 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I don't however see why you need a defensive midfielder in the SPL, what is the point unless you are not playing to win games Agreed but I think we can all agree it is inevitable we will be utilising one at Parkhead so the discussion is pertinent. Whilst Edu was quite impressive going forward, the role of the man occupying this position will be to screen his back four and disrupt Celtic play and possession. Something McCulloch would arguably be better at, based on his brief performances in the role. :box: 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Agreed but I think we can all agree it is inevitable we will be utilising one at Parkhead so the discussion is pertinent. Whilst Edu was quite impressive going forward, the role of the man occupying this position will be to screen his back four and disrupt Celtic play and possession. Something McCulloch would arguably be better at, based on his brief performances in the role. :box: Fair enough we will probably use this type of player at PH, I totally disagree that Lee is our best option for this role. I would play Edu, Hemdani, Mendes and even Madjid before Lee here but just my opinion 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Fair enough we will probably use this type of player at PH, I totally disagree that Lee is our best option for this role. I would play Edu, Hemdani, Mendes and even Madjid before Lee here but just my opinion I don't think he's our best option. But we all know what Smith is going to do on the 13th. I'm merely trying to convince myself as much as you that it isn't a disaster waiting to happen. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineflyer 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Until he arrived at Ibrox, I knew little about Lee McCulloch. Now I can see he is a clumsy, ill-balanced footballer with poor touch, poor passing and an almost absent scoring record. I'm entirely ambivalent where he plays in the team because he simply doesn't possess the basic abilities required to succeed in any position. He would be amongst the first two players I would ship out as soon as possibe - and in the meantime I wouldn't have them anywhere near the first team. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Who is the other MF? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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