DAVIE KIRKWOOD’S association with Rangers is long and tangible having been in at the beginning of the Souness Revolution and then a key man in the Murray Park Youth Academy. He made his Rangers debut on the day the Championship was presented on the final day of the incredible 1986/87 season when the Light Blues ended a nine-year wait for title glory. And he was later responsible for the development of Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton, Stevie Smith, Chris Burke and Ross McCormack. However, it’s another Rangers that dominate his life now – Brora – having taken over as boss last autumn in rather controversial circumstances. And he is relishing a visit from Ally McCoist’s side to Dudgeon Park on Sunday when Rangers play their first match of a busy pre-season campaign. Indeed, the manager of the Highland League side has good reason to feel confident after his team defeated Ross County 2-0 last Wednesday night. He said: “Any club in Britain would be excited by a visit from Rangers and we are no different. I think the whole community and the whole of the north is looking forward to it. “I was talking to a local paper and they said you shouldn’t have any problems on Sunday because you’ve just beaten an SPL side. “I said come on Rangers are not exactly a Second Division club especially when you look at the players they have brought in like Nicky Law, Jon Daly and Cammy Bell and also Stevie Smith re-signing. “That’s the quality of player Rangers have had in the past.” Kirkwood was just 19 when he was snapped up by Souness from East Fife in a whirlwind move but he revealed that the legendary Willie Waddell had tried and FAILED to sign him earlier. He was a promising midfield player at that time but with Ian Durrant and Derek Ferguson already at Ibrox and the arrival of players like Ray Wilkins and not least the presence of the player-manager, his opportunities were limited to just 13 appearances overall. That said he still relishes that period of his life and moved on to play successfully for Hearts, Airdrie and Raith Rovers. He said: “I was 19 sitting in a college room and all of a sudden there were reporters sitting outside and I was thinking ‘what the heck is this?’ “It turned out Rangers wanted to sign me and the next day the deal was done. It was a bit of a whirlwind but it was one of the best experiences of my life. “When I was 15 or 16 I had Willie Waddell on the phone asking if I would sign for Rangers but I was already under S-form at East Fife so I couldn’t do it. “Then I played against Rangers in 1986 in the League Cup at Bayview in what was one of Graeme Souness’s first games in charge and we took them to penalties that night. “So maybe the way I played in that game stuck in their minds a wee bit. “I made my debut on the day that Rangers were presented with the Championship trophy in the final match of the season against St Mirren. “I had been in the squad for the first time the previous week when the league was won at Aberdeen. It was a dream come true to be involved. “Then at the beginning of the following season I was involved in the two matches with Dynamo Kiev in the European Cup so as a 19-year-old it was fantastic experience.” Kirkwood faced Rangers with Airdrie in the 1992 Scottish Cup final when the Light Blues finally got their hands on the silverware again after an 11-year wait, winning 2-1. He said: “”That was another big occasion. It was Andy Smith who grabbed the glory for Airdrie with his goal but it was my shot that rebounded to him! “Actually I took cramp in that game and got carried off! “However, it was another great experience. When you look back at your career you look at your cup finals and your medals.” Alex McLeish brought him to Murray Park in the 2002/03 season and he worked in the Youth Department with John Brown and Ian Durrant. He said: “I worked with the likes of Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton, Stevie Smith, Chris Burke and Ross McCormack so there was great quality in the youth department at that time. “In the first team there top quality guys like Ronald de Boer, his brother Frank and Shota Arveladze. “Frank and Shota used to always come round to the youth department to do a bit of coaching and that’s how they got started in that area. “It was a fantastic grounding for me because there were coaches there like Jan Wouters and Andy Watson as well as Alex McLeish. “I learned so much from all of them in terms of passing drills, short-sided games and many other aspects.” After a spell in charge of Ross County’s youth set-up, Kirkwood took the plunge and became a boss for the first time when he took over at Wick Academy in 2011. However, he was tempted to move to local rivals Brora Rangers last September and he suddenly felt the force of a rather fierce local rivalry. He said: “It was a bit torrid at the start because the clubs are bitter rivals. If you go from Brora to Wick it’s OK but if you go the other way it’s not OK. “It was a no-brainer for me because Brora train in Dingwall 15 minutes away from my house and when I looked at it long-term it was the right move for me. “The aftermath was a nightmare. I have no longer got a Facebook account after all the things that came through but you just have to get on with things when you make a decision like that.” Brora are bank-rolled by offshore company CRC Evans who are American-based but bossed locally by lifelong fan Ben Mackay who has managed to lure better players to Dudgeon Park through employment within the company. Now Brora have ambitions to take advantage of the pyramid stricture introduced to Scottish football which could allow the Highland League champions to make it into the senior set-up in 2015. He said: “Any club worth its salt has to be looking to progress and any coach would tell you that he wants to coach and work at the highest level possible.” For now, though Kirkwood will look forward to meeting up with old friends Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant at Sunday’s match. He added: “I’m sure the hospitality will be good and I’m sure Rangers will love their four days up here.”
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 09:55:47 +0000
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