Liam Kelly suggests Wes Foderingham recommended he leave Rangers

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Former Glasgow Rangers prospect Liam Kelly left Ibrox last summer and has now earned a move to the Championship.

Liam Kelly has told the Daily Record that both Wes Foderingham and goalkeeping coach Jim Stewart suggested that the time was right for him to leave Rangers before he departed from Ibrox last summer.

Kelly left the Gers for Livingston one year ago, and his form in the Scottish Premiership has seen him earn another switch this summer with former Rangers boss Mark Warburton taking him to Queens Park Rangers in the Championship.

His spell at Livi would have left plenty of Rangers fans wondering whether the club made the right decision in letting him go. As inspired a signing as Allan McGregor has been, the current Light Blues number one is well into the twilight of his career, and Kelly could have perhaps been a contender to succeed him when he does hang the gloves up.

But Kelly suggested that he has no regrets about the decision to leave Rangers, with several of those working closely with him recommending at the time that he considers his future.

“It got to the point at Rangers where I was paying closed doors games and I was doing well but it didn’t really mean anything because nobody was seeing me,” he told the Daily Record. “At that point I spoke to Wes Foderingham and he was a big believer that I should leave and go and play.

“I spoke to the goalkeeper coach Jim Stewart as well and he told me that it was the right time to leave. But when I asked the club if I could go the first couple of answers were no. I saw the writing on the wall with Allan McGregor coming in. If I never got out before that happened then I would be stuck not playing again.”

Of course, few could have expected Kelly to have such an outstanding season last term, and he was always unlikely to get that chance as Rangers number one without proving himself in the Scottish Premiership. But perhaps the Gers made a mistake in letting him go permanently, and should have instead loaned him out.

It is not a decision that Rangers will regret while McGregor is still playing. However, they could perhaps end up kicking themselves once he calls time on his career, especially if Kelly continues to impress at his next club.