By John May

Alex McLeish has used his own brand of chemistry to make Rangers number one in Scotland.

McLeish joy tempered

Now, the man many see as the Sorceror's Apprentice to Sir Alex Ferguson needs to apply his alchemy to Rangers' Champions League campaign.

Rangers' 2-1 win over Stuttgart was just the sort of start needed if McLeish is to convert a Champions League record from strictly base-metal to gold.

Since the formation of the Champions League, Rangers have failed to get past the group stages.

And when the draw for this year's group stage was made, Rangers, Stuttgart and Panathinaikos knew they were playing strictly for second place behind Manchester United.

But the nature of the win over Stuttgart has instilled real hope at Ibrox that Rangers can enjoy a long run in this year's competition.

Put simply, it was not the sort of win Rangers would have conjured up under previous manager Dick Advocaat.

This is where McLeish has waved his wand. He has instilled spirit and forged together a squad which was previously rife with dressing-room cliques and cabals.

During the close season McLeish lost key players like Lorenzo Amoruso, Neil McCann and Barry Ferguson as Rangers' financial plight began to bite.

Although he has brought in Egil Ostenstad, Henning Berg and Emerson on free transfers, most of the players in his squad are those which under-performed under Advocaat.

It is McLeish's ability to get the best out of players that has has Premiership clubs - including Tottenham - making more than mental notes.

Like his mentor Ferguson, who he played under at Aberdeen, McLeish is endowed with presence.

McLeish's record July 1994: Appointed Motherwell manager May 1995: Leads Motherwell to second in Premier Division Feb 1998: Appointed Hibs manager May 2001: Takes Hibs to third in the SPL Dec 2001: Appointed Rangers manager 2001-2002: Wins League Cup and Scottish Cup 2002-2003: Leads Rangers to domestic Treble

The pair are close, and said to regularly exchange telephone calls.

Ferguson was certainly instrumental in getting McLeish the Ibrox job by supplying a glowing reference to then-Rangers chairman David Murray.

And McLeish will get the chance to pit his wits against Ferguson, the master versus the apprentice, when Rangers take on Manchester United later in the Champions League group stage.

Like Ferugson, McLeish is not afraid to look abroad for players, and for all his Scottish passion his starting line-up against Stuttgart did not include one native-born son.

Not even the most optimistic Rangers' fan would expect to see his side lifting the European Cup in Gelsenkirchen in May.

But second place behind United and a passage into the knock-out stage would do very nicely for a club which has made no impact in Europe's premier club competition since coming within a whisker of making the final in 1992-93.

Do not bet against Rangers, who have developed a habit of springing surprises under McLeish.

They were not expected to sweep to the Scottish treble in McLeish's first full season in charge, and he has shifted the delicate balance of power in Scotland back towards Rangers.

Most pundits did not expect them to beat Stuttgart, but they roared back to win and put themselves in a good position in a group where the biggest bearing will be the results against Stuttgart and Panathinaikos.

With debts of around �62m, McLeish's touch for Rangers could be golden.

But the price to pay for the Scottish champions could be the loss of the Sorceror's Apprentice.