Tam McManus lauds ‘tremendous’ Abdallah Sima as he admits ‘I got it totally wrong’ about Rangers vs Hibs
Tam McManus has admitted he got it “totally wrong” in his prediction that “Rangers were there for the taking” after Hibs were thrashed 4-0 on Saturday (21 October).
The former Easter Road forward said on PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show on 23 October that he had been hearing about it from Gers fans since Philippe Clement’s first game in charge ended in a comprehensive victory at Ibrox, with the visitors “wide open”.
He praised Abdallah Sima, scorer of two, as “tremendous” and suggested Hibs boss Nick Montgomery will now understand the level he is dealing with against the Old Firm.
McManus said (11m 20s): “I’ve been getting it tight as you know from a lot of Rangers supporters on social media but as Neil [Lennon] said, Hibs had been in good form, unbeaten, came back from Tynecastle just previous two nothing down.
“I thought Rangers were there for the taking. Got it totally wrong. I thought Hibs would go out there and play positive. They did, they played 4-4-2 and they were wide open.
“Defensively they tried to play out from the back for 90 minutes and Rangers pressed them. Hibs weren’t good enough to play out from the back and Rangers were nicking it and honestly in the second half it could have been seven or eight.
“Hibs supporters want to see their team having a go at Celtic and Rangers at times but sometimes I think you’ve got to go, ‘Let’s maybe just keep it tight for 20 minutes and get into the game’.
“Hibs went gung-ho at the start of the game, Rangers got the goals. Sima’s two goals were tremendous finishes, great pace for the first one…
“I’m not saying the honeymoon period is over for Nick Montgomery but I think maybe he realises there’s a certain level when you step up to Celtic and Rangers.”
Turn up
Given the low level that the Light Blues had been performing at previously it might have been understandable to tip them to slip up.
But Clement delivered the exact sort of new manager bounce that every board hopes for when they make a change, and showed some signs of the sort of performance this side should be producing with regularity.
It was an ideal message to start with but it won’t mean much unless it is backed up by several more, with the Viaplay Cup and the December Old Firm derby key assignments in the coming weeks.
He won’t get a chance to alter the make up of the squad until after both have been navigated so the Belgian will need to continue as he’s started and maintain the increased standards with what he currently has at his disposal.
Sima has already begun to establish himself as a key weapon with some stand out performances recently when teammates were flopping all around him.
It may only be one game but proving negative predictions wrong is a good sign to begin with for the three-time Jupiler Pro League title winner.
In other Rangers news, a “perverse” boost to the club’s chances of delivering a permanent deal the fans want has been mooted.