How Michael Beale can rescue Rangers season as Marco Negri won't press panic button before potential 'turning point'

Marco Negri was forced to wait until he’d retired before he could celebrate silverware in a Rangers jersey. Now the former Ibrox poacher has urged today’s team to succeed where he failed and turn around a season teetering on the brink.

Negri had the boots back on in Greece last week as he took part in a Gers fan convention and even got his hands on a trophy after his kick-about with supporters. That’s a feat, however, the lethal Italian hitman couldn’t manage after signing up for Walter Smith’s Light Blues back in 1997. He blasted a staggering 33 goals before the bells had rung out for Hogmanay but it was Celtic dancing for joy by the time the season ended as Gers’ 10-in-a-row charge collapsed.

The bump in their bid for this season’s title has come a lot earlier with Michael Beale’s side already four points adrift of their Parkhead rivals and facing huge pressure from the infuriated Ibrox faithful. But Negri reckons the VIaplay Cup could be a springboard for Beale’s side to mount a recovery, with Celtic already out of the competition and Rangers facing a quarter-final clash at home to Livingston later this month.

“It could be a turning point for this team,” he said. “Confidence is something you must have to be competitive in Europe and domestically.

“So winning the Viaplay Cup could be even more important for this team than just lifting a trophy. It would give the new players a boost and help glue the team. I think it’s so important that Rangers do not let this opportunity go.”

Negri left Ibrox under a cloud after a fall-out with former chairman David Murray. But his relationship with the Ibrox faithful is in a much healthier state these days and he’s a popular figure on the Gers convention circuit.

However, he admits