CRITICISM levelled at Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor is unfair, according to his former Ibrox mentor.
The 40-year-old has come under fire for his role in the two goals conceded against Motherwell on Sunday with a number of supporters keen on Jon McLaughlin taking over the No.1 spot.
However, ex-Rangers keeper Billy Thomson has told the Rangers Review he is still the best man for the job.
Thomson, currently goalkeeper coach at League Two Stranraer, said: “He’s got a determination about him. He’s always had that.
“He’s a perfectionist. If he makes a mistake he’ll put his hand up and try to rectify that but he’s not the type who’ll go chasing things.
“At the end of the day, you’re the backline so if you make a mistake then eight times out of 10 it’ll end up in the back of the net whereas the back four can make mistakes and the goalkeeper will make saves.
“The thing that really got me is people coming away with this saying, ‘He got beat at his near post.’
“That’s ok if you’re getting beat at your near post when it’s maybe 18, 20, 25 yards out but if you’re maybe seven or eight yards out and the guy is hitting it at 70-80mph, you don’t know if it’s going to go in at your near post, you don’t know if it’s going to go above you or to your left.
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“You’ve got to stay big and make up your mind. If the ball goes by you at your near post from that position, from that far out, it’s just the pace of the ball that beats you. But people look at it and go, ‘Oh, that’s the goalie’s right-hand side, that’s his near post, he shouldn’t have been beaten there.' It’s a load of nonsense.”
Thomson argues McGregor’s faults this term pale into insignificance compared to the times he comes up trumps for the champions.
He said: “The Ross County and Hearts games, yeah fine, they were blatant goalkeeping errors. But you need to look at Greegsy over the piece.
"This is what I tend to do when I was playing and now being a goalkeeping coach. I would take the season up till now and if he's made errors against say Hearts and Ross County - that’s two games out of how many?
“That’s the thing I judge it on. If you play 40 games in a season and you have four or five games when you’re a bit dodgy, that’s a great return.
“You can be dodgy and not lose goals. You can be a bit apprehensive, indecisive, that sort of thing but you’ll still maybe get a clean sheet and still win.
“I used to give myself five or six games where maybe in three of those games you’ve actually caused goals. I that happens then it’s not a bad return.”
Thomson played on until he was 39 when he finished his career at Dundee so he knows all about playing into advanced years.
And he reckons it’s unfair to question McGregor’s place between the sticks based on his age.
He said: “You look at his performances throughout the season, he didn’t look like a 39 or 40-year-old with some of the saves that he makes.
“To get to the top left, the top right, bottom left, bottom right the way he does I think is testament to the fact he looks after himself.
“Sometimes you can see it in goalkeepers. I’ve been at a few places where I’ve maybe got two goalkeepers the same age but one is more agile than the other or quicker than the other. I used to adapt my training.
“You can look at a 36-year-old or a 38-year-old and say, ‘Aye, you look your age, just by your movement.’
“With the likes of Greegsy at 40, he’s still quick off his line, that’s because he sees things nice and early and he can get to the top corners and the bottom corners.
“For me, looking at him just now, it’s nothing to do with his age. If you look at Dino Zoff and guys like that, they played till they were 40-odds.
“He’s been a credit to himself, he’s been absolutely incredible and I still think he could play on.
“As long as you feel good and get up in the morning and want to train, that’s a big thing and if you steer clear of injury then it’s fine.
“The likes of myself, I was about 40 but I was getting back problems, my Achilles was going and you think to yourself, ‘Is it worth it?’
“Some mornings I would get up and think, ‘Oh god, not again!’
“I was playing for Dundee on Saturday and maybe not train again until the Thursday or even the Friday sometimes.
"If Allan can steer clear of injury then there's nothing to stop him.”
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