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McCulloch Facing Mother Of All Dilemmas

Tue 13 May, 08:09 AM


Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch has been swamped by requests for tickets for Wednesday's UEFA Cup final against Zenit St Petersburg.

The Ibrox club have been handed around 19,000 tickets for the City of Manchester Stadium clash but more than 100,000 Light Blues fans are expected to converge on the city ahead of the game.

Former Motherwell star McCulloch, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on the day of the final, said: "I just gave all my tickets to my mum telling her to deal with it!

"It has been amazing.

"I've had people who I went to school with, phoning me and texting me.

"People I did not know were still alive have come out of the blue!

"Everybody that you can possibly imagine, including former teachers and former managers, have been on to me.

"Paul Jewell, my old manager at Wigan, texted me.

"I'm not the only one, it's the same with the rest of the boys.

"I would like my two brothers Willie and Gregor and my dad to be there, they are the main ones along with a couple of my close mates.

"They have followed my whole career, they went to all the Motherwell games and came down for all the Wigan games.

"And being Rangers fans, they are coming to Ibrox all the time.

"So with the following we have and the game being played in Manchester, I think we should have got more tickets.

"Maybe it should have been a bigger stadium because I don't think a 45,000-47,000 stadium is enough.

"With Manchester only three hours away, we could have sold 100,000 tickets."

Rangers goalkeeper Neil Alexander admits he feels sorry for number one Allan McGregor, who will miss the final through an ankle injury.

The former Ipswich man said: "Allan has more than than played his part in getting the club this far.

"He has had a fantastic season.

"So, as much as I am delighted for myself, I am really disappointed for Allan because these are the games that you want to play in as a professional.

"He probably deserved to be part of the team that is playing in these big games.

"But hopefully he will not be sorely missed.

"Hopefully, I can do myself justice and carry on from where he left off."

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