Lee Wallace, the 31-year-old former Rangers captain, has had a tough time at Ibrox, since last season. The left-back has struggled with injuries and was also involved in a bust-up with the manager Graeme Murty previous season, where Wallace was fined four weeks of his wages. However, Wallace won his appeal, and now the club seems to be siding with the left back in this case instead of their former manager Graeme Murty.
Wallace missed the start of the season due to lack of fitness, but many believed that the Gers are trying to freeze him out of the squad after the last season’s debacle. However, Steven Gerrard, the new manager, finally placed him on the bench against FC Ufa for the Europa League qualifiers and it looked like his time would soon arrive. However, Wallace had to face another snub as the Gers didn’t pick him for the Europa League squad.
Former Teddy Bears legend Terry Butcher recently came out and claimed that the defender still has a future at the club. He was quoted as saying,”I still think there’s a future for Lee at Rangers. Yeah, he’s not the captain any more, but he’s still a good player and he’s still a player who’s worthy of being in the squad. That will be it as far as Steven’s concerned.”
Wallace so far has made just one appearance this season when he came on in the dying seconds of the game against Motherwell. Gerrard has significantly brought in reinforcements in the summer and Borna Barisic has impressed in the left back role. The Croatian was even called for national duty recently and has already looked the part at Rangers so far. In his absence, former Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan has filled in that role even though he is predominantly a right back. So one can technically say Wallace is now the third choice left back at the side and he is going to find chances few and far between in the first eleven.
Nevertheless, his experience could come in handy and even Gerrard in an interview claimed that he has a role to play in what could be a long season. Especially now that they have made it to Europa League group stages. Gerrard said,”Lee is a leader and he’s had a tough time with injury, but I wanted to name him on the bench today, not necessarily to use him but just to start getting him the feel back for the crowd and being around in the dressing room. The idea now is to push him and try and get him match-fit as soon as we can and he’ll be a big positive for us in the squad.”
Wallace’s leadership qualities could come in handy in the dressing room and the manager can always count on him to put in a decent shift when called into action. He might not have been picked in the Europa League squad but one can see the 31-year-old featuring in league and domestic cup games. So surely, his time at Ibrox has not come to an end yet.
