McCulloch ready for biggest night yet

Twelve months on from a successful relegation fight with English club Wigan Athletic FC, Lee McCulloch is enjoying a scrap of a different kind as Rangers FC continue their bid for glory on four fronts in Lisbon – facing Sporting Clube de Portugal in a UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg.

Cup glory
McCulloch – who turns 30 on the day of the final in Manchester, 14 May – returned to his native Scotland last summer after a successful six-and-a-half season stay at Wigan, which included that team's first promotion to England's top tier. A boyhood Rangers fan, he has already collected a first winner's medal with the Glasgow side, after his miss in a penalty shoot-out proved irrelevant as Dundee United FC were defeated in last month's Scottish League Cup final. Now he is determined to add to that tally as the Light Blues renew ties with Sporting following a goalless draw at Ibrox last week.

'Belief'
"It's the biggest game of my Rangers career," said McCulloch, from the picturesque seaside town of Cascais on the periphery of the Portuguese capital. "The boys know what a chance we have of making a name for ourselves as a team. It's a relatively young squad but we're growing in belief. To reach the semi-final would be a great achievement and everyone believes we can do it. Now we have to get out there and do the talking on the pitch."

European experience
With Motherwell FC and Wigan on his CV, McCulloch has had little exposure to European football, yet he has impressed, primarily in left midfield, in 13 appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup this term. "I think European nights are the ones you get most experience from playing in, as you're up against better players," he said. "As a player you want to play against the best, on the best stages."

'Good atmosphere'
The Estádio José Alvalade is certainly one of those, although McCulloch is undaunted by the prospect of another tension-filled night: "They'll have the crowd behind them and it should be a really good atmosphere. They're a good passing team, as they showed at Ibrox, and have really good players but the advantage we have is the fact they didn't score an away goal. We can defend as a team, and we've shown we can also open up and score goals as well."

Tiredness
With Walter Smith's men seven points clear of Celtic FC at the Premier League summit and with a Scottish Cup quarter-final replay looming, McCulloch knows Rangers have plenty more tests to come this season. Will tiredness be a factor? He thinks not: "It's the desire which is keeping us going – winning games. It's going to be hard work but the desire and togetherness among our squad is tremendous, it's something I've never seen before. We need to get to the semi-final first, but the carrot is there with a Manchester final." Some birthday present that would be.