RANGERS boss Dick Advocaat today slammed Blackburn Rovers' demands as "totally unbelievable" as the Colin Hendry situation threatened to turn into stalemate, writes PETER WHITE.

Rovers, who rejected Rangers' original offer of £2.5 million, are sticking to their asking price of £5.15 million, despite Rangers chairman David Murray stressing he would not pay over the odds.

And Mr Murray claimed he was prepared to be patient to land Hendry - clearly hoping to turn the screw on Rovers who are in a no-win situation.

Roy Hodgson does not have the services of the player, who says he has made his last appearance for the club, and his hopes of signing a replacement are hampered until he knows what is happening with Hendry.

The bottom line as Rovers see it is that they don't even want to sell Hendry, so why should they accept less than what they believe is the market price.

Advocaat, who had hoped to have the player signed, sealed and delivered in time for Saturday's deadline for the next UEFA Cup qualifying round, also has defensive problems before Sunday's Scottish League opener against Hearts.

He said: "Hopefully, Blackburn Rovers will understand that we have offered them a good fee and a reasonable price for the player.

"Look at the situation with John Collins. He is a player in the same class, around the same age and also a Scottish international.

"He signed for Everton for £2.5 million, the same price we have offered for Hendry.

"But they want double that and I find that totally unbelievable.

"We want him and he wants to come to Ibrox. That's most important and I just hope they understand that."

Ewood chief executive John Williams, who confirmed that he had already had two rounds of talks with Mr Murray - apparently with no significant progress - was unmoved by Advocaat's attack.

"We do not believe our valuation is frivolous," he said. "Look at other deals such as Les Ferdinand which is a matter of record and I have read about Frank Leboeuf being valued at £5 million.

"Our manager's opinion is that Colin was one of the best centre backs in the World Cup.

"What it also comes down to for us is that we don't want it. At the end of the day, we will be into replacements. That will be Roy Hodgson's call but I suspect it will cost Blackburn Rovers money.

"All of this has happened when we are not willing sellers. If we were trying to force the player out it would be a different matter. But we are also realistic."

There seems bound to be some room for manoeuvre, by both sides, to solve what could become a sticky situation. But Rovers point to the fact that, despite Hendry's age, Rangers are prepared to offer him a substantial four-year deal.

Rangers claim they are prepared to wait.

"I am not in any rush," said Mr Murray. "I think Blackburn believe we are under pressure to get a deal done before the European deadline.

"It might take a week, it might take 10 days but we are very keen to sign Colin and he is keen to come here."

When things are finally sorted out, one way or another, it seems unlikely that Rovers would pursue any other claims against Rangers for breaking the rules - even though they appear to have a strong case.

Responding to claims they had acted wrongly, Mr Murray said: "I don't have any problem with the way Rangers have gone about this.

"Colin wants to come to Rangers and I am sure our supporters want to see him at Ibrox in a blue shirt.

"We have made what I believe is a fair offer. Although there may be a bit of top and tail on the bid I have a duty to ensure our finances are spent in a correct manner and I will not pay over the odds."

Mr Williams declined to comment about the possibility of taking action against Rangers, saying only: "The facts are laid out in our statement."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.