Scottish Football News

Davie Weir, Glasgow Rangers’ veteran Scottish defender will take over the captain’s armband from current club captain and long-term injury victim, Barry Ferguson.

Weir, who has 61 caps for Scotland, signed for the Glasgow club 2007 on a six-month deal after being released by English Premiership club, Everton and has since turned in a string of impressive performances for the Ibrox club.

Weir, 38, will lead the team out for the first time in a friendly match against Bundesliga side Schalke in Gelsenkirchen as Rangers continue their pre-season tour of Germany and boss Walter Smith confirmed the appointment in a statement:

Smith said: “David will captain the team while Barry is injured.

“If we do get another player in he may not play all the games but he will captain the team.

“David was a big part of what made us successful last season and it is not an easy decision for a manager to decide when a player is too old these days.

“Look at Paolo Maldini. He’s 40 and was going to retire this summer but hasn’t. But good luck to these lads - they deserve it.

“David has been a terrific professional. His attitude is terrific and you will not come across a more decent man.

“He’s great in terms of his training, approach and manner within the group.

“David is popular with everybody. He has a bit of steel about him, too, and doesn’t like losing.”

Not so good news for Barry Ferguson however, as he prepares to sit out the first four months of the season as he bids to recuperate from surgery to repair tendons in his left-ankle. Ferguson’s surgery piles pressure on an already growing injury list for Walter Smith, who must surely be looking for a lucky break after losing the SPL on the last day to arch-rivals Celtic.

Also on the Ibrox injury list are Stevie Smith, who has only recently returned to the first-team after missing the entire 2007/08 season with a pelvic injury; an ankle injury sustained in training has ruled him out for around 4 to 6 weeks. Meanwhile, American winger DaMarcus Beasley is out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, while recent £3 million signing, striker Kyle Lafferty will spend at least a fortnight on the sidelines after injuring his back in training.

“It’s another blow for Stevie Smith who has not had his troubles to seek in recent times but we wish him a speedy recovery,” he said.

“The Lafferty one is frustrating because when you sign a new player you want to bed him into the team quickly but he is at least another week away.

“I would have to say that he won’t be available to us for the Champions League qualifier on July 30.”

It’s certainly bad news for Walter Smith, who had hoped to build on a strong showing from his team in the previous season, but has seen his plans and preparation for the new campaign blighted by bad luck on the injury front.

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