Barrie McKay claims Rangers fans are wrong about his exit

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Rangers saw Barrie McKay thrive under Mark Warburton, but he was offloaded by Pedro Caixinha in 2017.

McKay joined Rangers from Kilmarnock in 2011, but after loan spells at Greenock Morton and Raith Rovers, some wondered whether he would really make the grade at Rangers.

When Warburton arrived as boss in 2015, it all changed for him. McKay suddenly became a key player for Rangers, hitting nine goals in all competitions during the 2015-16 season.

His big moment came with a stunning long-range goal against Celtic in May 2015, but his form was a little more patchy as he stepped up to the Scottish Premiership in 2016.

By the summer of 2017, McKay was gone. Caixinha had replaced Warburton, and allowed him to sign for Nottingham Forest – reuniting with Warburton in the process.

Now on loan at Fleetwood Town from Swansea City, the 25-year-old hasn’t really found a home since leaving Rangers, and has now commented on his Ibrox exit.

Speaking to the Scottish Daily Mail on Sunday (28/06, p146), McKay suggested that Caixinha just didn’t like him, and the club tried to sell him without even telling him directly.

The winger noted that Rangers fans often say that he left for the money, but that simply isn’t true – and attempted to set the record straight on how he was pushed out.

“With Caixinha, I just think he didn’t like me,” said McKay. “He stopped playing me and pulled me to the side to ask why I hadn’t signed a new contract. I said: “Well, you’re not playing me. So how can I commit to that?” I could commit long-term — then I don’t play. He said to me: ‘Well, if you don’t sign, then you will never play for me’. You can’t really believe all that they say and when results weren’t great, he was back to me before the end of the season telling me he needed me.”

“I never really thought about leaving. Then, on holiday in Tenerife, my agent rang to say: ‘You’ll never guess, Rangers are trying to sell you’. I said: ‘What do you mean? They were offering me a new contract a few months ago!’ But they’d got another agent going about clubs to try and get me out. I was gobsmacked. All of a sudden I’m thinking: ‘Who’s going to take me?’ I couldn’t believe I was having to get my head around the idea I’d need to leave Rangers.”

“When I went back for pre-season, there were no reasons given. It was names up on a board — me and Michael O’Halloran training on our own, away from the squad. Whatever fee they were trying to sell me for, as soon as they start doing that, they’re not going to get anywhere near that price. I’ve heard Rangers fans say that I chased the money and all that sort of stuff but people didn’t know what went on and that I was forced out,” he added.