RYDC have been speaking to a number of Academy graduates about their time with the Light Blues and life after leaving Rangers. <\/p>\n
First up in their \u2018Where Are They Now?\u2019 series is former defender Ross McCrorie.<\/p>\n
Ross has become a key player for Bristol City as they push for promotion to the English Premier League, and the former Light Blues star says he is grateful to the Rangers Academy coaches he worked with, who shaped his professional career.<\/p>\n
Billy Kirkwood and Ibrox icon Ian Durrant helped guide Ross during his formative years with the club, and the lessons he learned from both men were invaluable.<\/p>\n
The Scotland international made his Rangers debut against Partick Thistle in September 2017, when Pedro Caixinha was in the dugout, and he was a first-team regular for the remainder of the campaign.<\/p>\n
It was a difficult period for the club, but Ross thrived, and his all-action style and will to win always endeared him to supporters.<\/p>\n
McCrorie\u2019s game was taken to a different level with the arrival of Steven Gerrard in 2018\/19, and he was thrilled to work with one of football\u2019s true legends.<\/p>\n
A loan move to Portsmouth followed before Derek McInnes took him to Aberdeen, where he flourished, and Ross is now a mainstay for Bristol City in the English Championship.<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging interview as he showed his support for The Rangers Youth Development Company, who have donated more than \u00a312.5 million to the Academy so far, Ross reflects on his time in Glasgow and life after leaving the Light Blues.<\/p>\n
The defender, who celebrates his 28th birthday today, said: \u201cMy brother Robby was already at Rangers from the age of 8 and I used to travel up with him for Football in the Community training sessions on the pitches across from Ibrox. <\/p>\n
\u201cI did two or three sessions, then Alan Boyd, who is still a coach at the club, asked me to play with his team when I was 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started training with them, and I was on trial for about six to eight months, then I got signed up, and that was the start of the Rangers journey. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo sign for your boyhood club is a proud moment, and it was a dream come true for my family and me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a lot of great coaches on the way up, and the big two were Billy Kirkwood and Ian Durrant.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirky was great with me. He could be hard on players, but he was preparing us for a life as professional footballers, and we learned so much from him. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great to work with Kirky and then Durranty, who really pushed me to the next level. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me the captaincy when I was the youngest player in the team, so he really pushed me on and took me under his wing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a lot from him, and he had an incredible Rangers career. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember he phoned me when I got my first call-up to the Scotland squad, and he was so happy for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s a big, big character, and he helped me so much. He used to take me aside and talk about my game. He gave me the belief and would always do the extras with me. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful for all he has done for my career. <\/p>\n
\u201cJim Sinclair was the Head of the Academy at that time. He was very old school and helped prepare me for the first team, then Craig Mulholland came and helped my development too.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerformances are important, but you just need to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky to learn from so many great coaches when I was at the Academy, and I also had two loan moves that were great experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cDurranty took me to Dumbarton when he was assistant to Stevie Aitken, and Ian McCall had me at Ayr Utd.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when you get into academy football, you’re in a comfort zone, so I felt I had to get out and try something new in another changing room. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember Ian McCall told me I was a man, not a boy anymore, after a few training sessions, and I loved my time under him at Ayr.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a great grounding at the Rangers Academy and really kicked on with my loan moves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all helped my development, and it was a dream to make my first-team debut against Partick Thistle when Pedro was the manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was special for my family and me, even though it was a difficult time for the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started against Celtic a few weeks later, then scored my first goal against Partick Thistle just after that, so it was a bit of a whirlwind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of ups and downs in that season, but it was great to play, and I was a part of the squad every week when I was fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was learning all the time, playing at tough places like Tynecastle and Pittodrie, and I loved it, to be honest. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe team wasn\u2019t doing so well, but I loved the feeling of rolling the sleeves up and trying to get results.<\/p>\n
\u201cRangers were my club growing up. It’s always been my club, and I wanted to just do the best I could, so I learned a lot during that debut season in the first-team.<\/p>\n
\u201cStevie G came in the next year, and that’s when we started to kick on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved it. The standard really went up, and the whole team was a lot better. <\/p>\n
\u201cHis first pre-season is one of the hardest I\u2019ve had to this day. <\/p>\n
\u201cI played a lot of games under him, but it was a start every two or three games, and I wanted to be the main man somewhere and experience something else. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was probably a gamble, but I felt like I needed to leave and go and be my own man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI then went to Portsmouth on loan, and Derek McInnes took me to Aberdeen after that, and I loved working with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really pushed me on to another level, and I can\u2019t speak highly enough of him or the staff there who looked after me from day one. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was a boy when I joined and left there as a man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love the level of the Championship. It\u2019s a top league and has helped me get international recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was part of the Scotland squad for the last Euros, and I loved every minute of it. I didn\u2019t play, but it was a great experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe target is the World Cup next year now. I\u2019m really enjoying my football, and I feel I should be in the Scotland squad. That’s my mindset. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 28 now and approaching my peak.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pushing for promotion to the Premier League with Bristol City and in the Scotland squad, and I\u2019m hoping to go to the World Cup this summer. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s very positive for me just now, and I feel as if I’m probably playing the best football of my career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m starting to add goals to my game as well so it’s all about kicking on and trying to achieve the best possible outcomes in my career. <\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up there, and the club is always going to be in my heart. My family are all Rangers fans, so it was a dream come true for me to play there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have great memories, and even though there were difficult moments, I wouldn’t have changed any of it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI loved every single minute of it. Just pulling on that top, there’s no feeling like it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had great experiences at Rangers. Playing in European games and Old Firm games, which were electric, and I even played in goal and kept a clean sheet when Allan McGregor was sent off against Hibs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I have a lot of good memories. <\/p>\n
\u201cRangers is my club. It was my team growing up, and I\u2019ll always be a fan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross\u2019 career development was assisted by annual RYDC donations to the Rangers Academy and more than \u00a312.5 million has already been provided. Profit from our online store and products like Rangers Lotto, Stadium Bricks and The Union Jackpot draw all go to the Academy, while profit from Museum Lotto is donated to the club for the upkeep and maintenance of the Rangers Museum.<\/p>\n
Rangers Academy is proudly sponsored by Carrick Packaging<\/a><\/p>\n VIP HOSPITALITY<\/a>: Combining all the passion, excitement and joy of football with an unrivalled choice of suites and packages, a matchday at Ibrox can be exactly what you want it to be <\/p>\n SOCCER ACADEMY<\/a>: Kicking off from 18 months old, with classes across Scotland and Northern Ireland, available term-time and holidays <\/p>\n A<\/a>SK RANGERS<\/a>: A dedicated platform where fans can access essential Q&As on ticketing, VIP hospitality and MyGers, and contact our Supporter Services team <\/p>\n \u2008<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RYDC have been speaking to a number of Academy graduates about their time with the Light Blues and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-548106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}