Andy Little: I’m jealous of lads who’ve got chance to complete the journey

[ian1964 10,721]

THE ex-Ibrox striker says he'll be delighted if Rangers seal promotion although he admits he will be envious of those who get to play.

 

ANDY LITTLE was in at the beginning and got to the halfway point. How he wishes he could have completed the four-year journey that may terminate in Kirkcaldy this afternoon.

 

Little grabbed the equalising goal in the last minute of Rangers’ first league game in Division Three, at Peterhead, in August 2012. Five months earlier, he’d scored in a 3-2 win over Celtic at a pulsating, packed-out Ibrox. Both are memories that will last a lifetime for different reasons.

 

The Northern Ireland international was cut loose by Ally McCoist after the second year of what Rangers believed would be a canter through the divisions and back to the big time. Hearts made sure they’d have to wait a year longer than planned but if Little’s former team beats Raith Rovers today and Hibs don’t win in Paisley, the Ibrox club will have reached the Premiership.

 

The Preston North End attacker, who is currently on loan at Accrington Stanley, will be thrilled for them, and in particular for lads like Barrie McKay, who scored the first goal in that 2-2 draw at Peterhead and will be there when Rangers get back to where they want to be.

 

McKay, and Lee Wallace, now captain and who stayed while so many jumped ship, have Little’s unstinting admiration.

 

As for the player himself, he didn’t jump. He was shoved overboard in May 2014 and it hurts to this day.

 

“I was absolutely gutted,” he recalled. “I was in tears leaving the club because I didn’t expect it to happen. I was getting the vibe all season that I would be offered a new deal but a few things changed.

 

“The board was changing at the time and the likes of Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd became available. If I was going to be replaced by anyone, I suppose those are two absolute legends at the club.

 

“When I got released, I was gutted but when I heard that those two boys were coming in I found it easier to accept.

 

“Ally told me the news. We played the final game away to Dunfermline on the Saturday and I had been expecting to have the contract in front of me a couple of months before that, but I didn’t say much because I presumed it was coming.

 

“I got a few feelings towards the last weeks of the season that perhaps it wouldn’t be coming, but I was still hoping.

 

“The gaffer called me in on the Tuesday after the last game and said he’d love to keep me but he had to make decisions that were partly budget related. Obviously having the chance to bring in those two lads played a huge part in his decision as well.

 

“I had been there eight seasons. I’m a massive fan now having spent so long there. I know I left on good terms and the fans were absolutely brilliant with me.

 

“It’s hard to beat that feeling of having been a Rangers player and having been accepted by the Rangers fans. That’s something I cherish and I will always go back there.

 

“It looks like that was the best spell of my career. I scored a goal against Celtic in an Old Firm match and I’ve got a photo of that which I will keep for ever.

 

“Nobody will ever be able to take that away from me. It’s something I am pretty proud of.”

 

That Old Firm clash was 177 miles from Peterhead, but on a different planet football-wise from the experience Little and what was left of the Rangers squad faced on day one of the journey in Division Three.

 

“It was described as a circus and that’s what it was,” Little smiled. “It was crazy turning up at Peterhead, which was so far to travel, and when we got there it was the biggest media circus I have ever seen. We were told there were Japanese television crews there, which shows just how big a story it was.

 

“Although the players would say we were just concentrating on the game, it was hard to ignore everything that was going on around us.

 

“The biggest difference was going from stadiums, where often you don’t hear anything specific - it’s just a general noise - to actually hearing each and every insult. When you went to take a throw-in, you were able to look the person who was shouting abuse at you in the eye. That was the biggest thing, for me.

 

“We should have been better footballers with more ability than these players but it could be a leveller when every player we were up against were trying their hearts out in what might have been the biggest game of their careers. We had to match that week in, week out, and it shouldn’t have been hard to do because any time I got the chance to play for Rangers, I wanted to give it my all.

 

“That entire summer was strange. The first game was in the Challenge Cup at Brechin.

 

“I was back in Glasgow training by myself, running around a pitch in Bearsden, but I wasn’t training with the boys. I had one training session before the Brechin game and from what I was hearing, there were only seven of the senior players in at Murray Park training.

 

“It was strange to be involved in it all. To go from the previous season with the likes of Steven Davis, Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker, Mo Edu and Allan McGregor to coming back in and the whole nucleus of the squad having gone was strange. But the weird thing was that it was a good thing for me because having been on the bench or starting the odd game, it meant that I was one of the main players.

 

“I was disappointed with everything that had happened at the club I support, but it gave me the chance to play for the club and that’s something I enjoyed.”

 

He’ll look out for the Rangers result today, as always. And admits that if it goes their way, his happiness will be tinged with a little bit of envy.

 

“I’m delighted mostly for the lads who have been around for the duration of the journey - but I’m a little bit jealous, too. I can’t deny that.

 

“But I’m happy for the boys and you can’t look further than Lee Wallace. He just epitomises everything that I believe a Rangers player should be.

 

“His attitude is second to none. He is football mad - I’ve never met someone who is just so immersed in football. He watches every game he can.

 

“I’m delighted for him and I am glad there is someone like that at the club. Davie Weir is another one - the kind of players who know what the club is all about.

 

“The new signings have been really, really good. It has been exciting to watch.

 

“I hope they do it as soon as possible.”

 

Read more at http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-rangers-star-andy-little-7670998#qjvjVDywjcLhrfea.99

[limeburner 0]

Was dissapointed Andy never made it with us,him and Nicky Clark are very alike ,imo.

[Rousseau 10,604]

I still think Little was better than his achievements/performances with us suggest. Ironically, he suits Warburton's game more IMO. I would have liked to have seen him stay around.

[pete 2,499]

I still think Little was better than his achievements/performances with us suggest. Ironically, he suits Warburton's game more IMO. I would have liked to have seen him stay around.

 

He would have done far more than porky Boyd did.

[MacK1950 2,376]

My sentiments McCoist's "old pals act " with Boyd replacing Andy was a total disaster,one of many for McCoist.

[jhunter 0]

My sentiments McCoist's "old pals act " with Boyd replacing Andy was a total disaster,one of many for McCoist.

 

it was the lazy , buy the finished article and let them get on with it attitude

 

training? tactics? nah fuck that.

[Frankie 8,562]

I quite liked Little as a player actually. Always seemed a bit injury prone though and the direction of his career since he left suggests he's perhaps not good enough.