Rangers have a superb defensive record this season as they march towards the title
Stefan Klos has heralded Allan McGregor and reflected on the potential Rangers’ veteran keeper showed as a youth.
Klos became a legend at Ibrox as he followed in the footsteps of such goalkeeping greats as Chris Woods and Andy Goram, and few would take issue with McGregor being mentioned in the same breath.
Despite having recently turned 39, he remains one of the most important players in Steven Gerrard’s squad and has played a key role as they’ve established an 18-point lead in the Premiership and qualified for the Europa League’s final 32 as group stage winners.
With just eight goals conceded in 29 league matches, Rangers have been imperious at the back and Klos is unsurprised by his successor’s continued impact.
Speaking to the Sunday Post, the German reflected on his experiences of working alongside the young McGregor and urged him to remain at Ibrox beyond the end of the season.
He said: “If Allan feels fit and healthy in body and mind, then I think he should keep going.
“Only he will know exactly how he feels, but in terms of performances this season, he has been outstanding.
“It’s as though he has been on a personal mission to stop Celtic from doing 10-in-a-row.
“So he may feel this is the perfect time to hang up his gloves. Going out in this way might be the best ever because it’s such an important title for many reasons.
“But the flip side is that he will have the opportunity to go and play in the Champions League again. That must be very appealing.
“At the end of the day, age is just a number. There is every chance he feels better now than he felt when he was 35. We will see.
“Whatever happens, he has had a brilliant career. He can be very proud.
“My goodness, I remember him as a boy. He was so young when he came to Rangers. Now he is getting so old!
“From our first few training sessions together, I could see he had something special.
“He had great hands and had quick feet. He was brave. He had all the attributes.
“He always wanted to work hard and our goalkeeping coach, Alan Hodgkinson, liked that. We would talk together about the potential young Allan possessed.
“Allan was ambitious and wanted to improve every day. He wanted to become a first-team goalkeeper as quickly as possible, and he just needed to gather experience.
“He was also a popular boy, and was so good in the group. The senior professionals liked him. He was great company.
“When his career took off and he had many games under his belt, I felt he had the ability to go and play for a top-four side in England. That’s how highly I rated him.
“He picked up one or two injuries, but it never stopped him from having an outstanding career.”
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