Andy Walker revealed he was baffled why Rangers manager Steven Gerrard wanted Kilmarnock midfielder Alan Power to be handed a ban as it would mean that he would miss the clash with Celtic.
The Gers boss remarked on Power’s challenge on Ryan Jack after Rangers’ drew 0-0 with Kilmarnock and stated that he would be “interested” to see if there was a citing, as quoted by BBC Sport.
Walker revealed that he didn’t understand why Gerrard would want the SFA to take retrospective action against the 31-year-old midfielder when you consider that he is one of Kilmarnock’s most important players and the Gers boss should want him to play against Celtic as a result.
“It’s happening far too often now (calls for retrospective action) I have no idea why Steven Gerrard wants Alan Power to be cited for that as Kilmarnock’s next game is against Celtic, why would you want one of the more important, more influence players, why would you want him to miss a game against your rivals?” said Walker on Sky Sports News (Monday February 11th, 11:23am).
“I don’t really understand, but I think just in general there are far too many calls for retrospective action and we’re really beginning to lose the place here and I think the SFA need to take a bit of control.”
OPINION
Walker can be controversial with some of his opinions, but his logic on this occasion is very understandable. With the Gers trying to catch up with Celtic in the league, he should want life to be made difficult for his side’s rivals. While Power’s foul on Jack clearly warranted more than a yellow card, if he missed Kilmarnock’s match with Celtic, then it would actually help Brendan Rodgers’ side. The Hoops are more likely to beat Kilmarnock if Power was to not feature, and maybe the Rangers manager should hold off calling for retrospective action as a result. While some may argue that Gerrard just wants a better standard of referees in general in Scotland and needs to make a stand regardless if he helps his team, that opinion may not be shared by a lot of Rangers supporters. The Gers are currently behind in the race for the league title and they need Celtic to drop points where ever possible to have a chance of overtaking them.