Rangers must avoid sucker punch. Marseille know the way to hit hard and early

Rangers. If we are to believe everything we have heard recently about

the French champions, Rangers have only to pull on their kit, run around

for an hour-and-a-half, and their place in the final against AC Milan

will be assured.

The air around this southern French port is heavy with whispers about

rows and uncertainty within Marseille's camp. Players are saying they

have not been paid their bonuses, one of the goalkeepers is in the huff,

and now there is talk that one of the three strikers, Abedi Pele, has

been unsettled by the club's owner, the flamboyant but eccentric Bernard

Tapie. If only it were all true, and Marseille's 72-year-old coach,

Raymond Goethals, had run off seeking sanctuary in a nursing home.

Marseille, you may recall, were embroiled in similar controversies, or

at least it was said they had severe internal problems, before their

last match againt CSKA Moscow. They won 6-0 with Frank Sauzee, who said

yesterday that one goal would be enough this time, scoring a hat trick.

It was not a performance which offered a whiff of anarchy or dissent

within the ranks, and Rangers would be wise to discount the possibility

of facing disillusioned opposition.

The winners tonight will qualify for the Munich final regardless of

what happens in the remaining Group A games -- Marseille will play Club

Brugge in Belgium while Rangers will be at home to CSKA in a fortnight

-- and at this stage of any competition, pride rather than material

concerns hijacks the minds of footballers. At this point they would play

for nothing.

The quality of being able to focus on the task in hand from the moment

the ball starts rolling will be crucial to Rangers' chances of success

because Marseille appear to have mastered the ability of starting with a

punch.

In each of the games against Glentoran, Brugge, and CSKA, they were

1-0 ahead after only five minutes. Indeed, against the Russians, they

were 2-0 up after 10 minutes, and in their last match against Brugge in

December, they were 3-0 ahead after 21 minutes.

Marseille have a formidable cutting edge with Alen Boksic, Rudi

Voller, and Pele, whom Tapie has suggested might be one of a few players

sold off to finance a rebuilding programme should the team fail to beat

Rangers.

Walter Smith's side are not regarded as being the quickest of

starters, but it would be extremely dangerous to follow that pattern in

the Velodrome. They will have to be at their best throughout the games

if they are to reach the European Cup final and emerge from a dark

place, as Pieter Huistra put it rather poetically yesterday.

Huistra, if fit, will be charged with the responsibility of providing

most of the deliveries into Marseille's box from the wider areas hoping

to pinpoint Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant, who will attempt to compensate

for the loss of the suspended Mark Hateley.

Rangers know they must make the most of any opportunities created

against a defence which has Manuel Amoros, Eric Di Meco, and Basile

Boli. All can be ruthless in the execution of their duties, but they

also command a high degree of ball skills.

Quality, in fact, can be found no matter where you look in this

Marseille side, and for that reason, Smith did not even contemplate the

possibility of closing down any particular player.

''What we have to do is stick to our own game and hope it will be

enough. Regardless of what happens against Marseille, probably the most

important thing we have achieved this season is the realisation that,

after past disappointments, we now can compete at this level,'' he said.

Competing brings us nicely around to Stuart McCall, who is in a class

of his own when it comes down to work-rate and determination. The

midfield player has looked at Marseille's squad and admired their

quality, but that has made him all the more anxious to get started.

''We'll get run over if we don't improve 100% on our performance when

we came back and took a 2-2 draw with them at Ibrox, and although we

face a tall order, this is a team game. The longer it goes without them

scoring, the stronger we will become because we have a real

self-belief,'' he said.

If Rangers are to have a chance against Tapie's multi-talented outfit

Rangers' self-belief must be manifested in a will to get forward and

attack.

In the Stade Velodrome Rangers must exhibit intelligence and bravery.

A place in the most significant club match in all of Europe awaits. If

they really want it, Smith's players must reach out and take it.