McLeish started taking notes after every training session as a player at Aberdeen. Now, during matches, he is often seen scribbling into a black, leather-bound book, noting thoughts and observations that may be of use in a team talk or at training.
Thoroughness laces together the determination and ambition that drive him on. At a time when Rangers cannot afford to alter their squad radically, the ability to make effective use of resources is a desirable trait. McLeish has proved his worth by getting the most from the players he has at his disposal. He is adept at making little gestures count for a lot.
When Alex Smith was Aberdeen manager, McLeish used to tell him about teammates who were having off-field problems or who might need extra help. “He had a natural concern about people and a way with them,” Smith later recalled. During Rangers’ pre-season tour of Germany, the manager sent a text message to each member of the youth development set-up to tell them how well Chris Burke and Steve Smith were playing. It is this understanding of human nature that helps McLeish bond and inspire those around him.
Winning a Treble can provide momentum for the next campaign, but it can leave players jaded. After Jock Wallace’s Rangers side won all three domestic trophies in 1975-76, the squad was then ravaged by injury and endured a barren season. Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat won Trebles in 1992-93 and 1998-99 respectively, but Smith’s side suffered at the beginning of the next term, losing games while players were out injured and only finding form after the signing of Gordon Durie in November. Advocaat added Dariusz Adamczuk and Michael Mols during the summer of 1999, but signed Tugay, the Turkish midfielder, the following January to bolster his squad.
Both Smith and Advocaat won the League the season after their Treble, and consistency of selection played an important role. But so too did the arrival of new players. “Keeping on changing the team helps to freshen things up,” Smith later recalled. After winning the Treble in 2001, Martin O’Neill added John Hartson, Bobo Balde, Steve Guppy and Momo Sylla, and retained the League.
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The nucleus of the team that performed so well for McLeish last season remains in place, and two signings — Nuno Capucho and Zurab Khizanishvili — have arrived, but weak spots are still evident. The players returned for pre-season training 37 days after the Scottish Cup final and the manager has already called for some of them to toughen up. “Sometimes I feel we need to shrug off some of the knocks a wee bit easier than we do,” he said last week.
The departures of Lorenzo Amoruso, Arthur Numan, Claudio Caniggia, Bert Konterman, Jerome Bonissel and Dan Eggen leave McLeish four players short of the squad that finished last season, yet this time will be more demanding. If last term confirmed his standing as the most talented Scottish manager of his generation, this campaign will go a long way to defining his reputation in a broader sense.
Twelve months ago, having finished the previous season 18 points behind Celtic, a title challenge would have been progress. Now, the same will be expected, but bolstered by a European run. Key players such as Stefan Klos, Craig Moore, Barry Ferguson and Ronald de Boer performed at full tilt last season, their consistency as unyielding as iron. But losing to Viktoria Zizkov in the first round of the Uefa Cup eased the strain of their playing commitments. McLeish has referred to that loss as “the big blip on last season”, and a prolonged European campaign is more necessity than luxury this time.
Andy Watson, his assistant, and Jan Wouters, the first-team coach, watched Copenhagen defeat Sliema Wanderers 4-1 in Malta last Wednesday, which all but assured that the Danes will meet Rangers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. McLeish went to watch Copenhagen play OB yesterday, and will be under no illusions that they will present an awkward and testing hurdle.
He has won only one out of four European ties as a manager — when Motherwell defeated Havnar of the Faroe Islands 7-1 on aggregate in the preliminary round of the Uefa Cup in 1994 — and failure on this occasion would be a huge setback.
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But the current squad, especially in defence, is too thin to be stretched to cover the demands of the coming 10 months (the team photo had only 21 players in it). Michael Ball has proved more than capable of replacing Numan at left-back, but it is the sizeable hole left by Amoruso’s departure that needs to be filled. Khizanishvili played at centre-back for Dundee, but may be too similar to Moore for the pair to develop an effective partnership, and McLeish has hinted that he may use the Georgian in midfield.
Rangers wanted at least £6m from the sale of Mikel Arteta, who seemed destined to return to Spain during the close season after admitting disaffection with his role. But with a move to Atletico Madrid breaking down and no approach coming from Barcelona, his former club and preferred destination, Rangers are left short of funds.
On Friday, McLeish denied reports of an imminent move for Marvin Andrews, the Livingston defender, but with the signing deadline for the third round of the Champions League falling at midnight on Thursday (although with special dispensation, players can be registered up to 24 hours before the first leg), he has little leeway left for manoeuvre.
Ball played in the middle against Everton last weekend, but McLeish concedes he is too small to be regarded as a regular in that position. That leaves Bob Malcolm as the most likely partner for Moore if no new player arrives. The Scot has looked steady in pre-season games, but he lacks Amoruso’s physique and instinct to attack crosses, and often lets his concentration wander in games.
The Italians traits are something McLeish has been trying to enhance in his young defenders. Andrew Dowie, the 20-year-old centre-back, said: “Towards the end of last season, he took players like myself, Bob (Malcolm) and Maurice (Ross) for half an hour every second day and he would just cross balls into the box to see how far we could head them out. He demands centre-halves be strong in the air and not let forwards mess you about.”
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Dowie is highly regarded by the Rangers coaching staff and is likely to spend much of this term as one of the two under-21 players in the first-team squad. But he is fourth-choice centre-back at Ibrox, while Moore can be injury-prone.
These are concerns for McLeish with the new season less than a week away. He has shown already he can make do and manage, but this season will provide the sternest test yet of his abilities.
Rangers v Kilmarnock
Saturday, BBC1, 12.10pm, kick-off 12.30pm