Ex-Rangers kid on working with Ballon d'Or winner, quitting at age 29

Former Rangers kid Jamie Ness looked to have to world at his feet a decade ago when he burst onto the scene at Ibrox with a stunning Old Firm goal – but the talented midfielder has opened up on the crisis of confidence that has forced him to walk away from football after playing alongside the likes of Peter Crouch and Michael Owen at Stoke City.

Ness broke into the side at Ibrox under Walter Smith, scoring in a 2-2 draw with Celtic before injuries started to take their toll and his career, unbeknown to Ness at the time, started to unravel.

After walking away from the Gers in 2012 as a result of financial difficulties, Ness ended up at Stoke City alongside former Ibrox colleague Mo Edu and household names like ex-England duo Crouch and Owen.

However, with only a handful of appearances under his belt for Rangers, Ness had a lingering doubt that he didn’t belong sharing a pitch with players of such calibre as repeated injury layoffs hampered his progress.

Ness freely admits that he was full of confidence at Ibrox but, after quitting football at age 29, the former Scotland youth international has looked back at where things went wrong for him.

“I had such confidence at first at Rangers. Stoke was where I lost that,” Ness told the Daily Record.

“I signed for them injured and was the youngest by a fair bit. I rubbed shoulders with Peter Crouch and Michael Owen who’d played at the top.

“Yet I’d played around 20 times in my career. I had this feeling of not belonging.

“As I struggled with injuries, doubts crept in and affected me pretty quickly. I never gave myself any compassion when I got injuries. I’d blame myself.

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“That manifested itself in more injuries – because that’s what I was stressing about.

“Look at my career from leaving Stoke. I just dropped down a level every time.

“Yet every move came with more pressure to get to that high level everyone expected of me. And all the while I’m going the wrong way.

“That took a toll. I spent years playing through injuries, pushing my body to the limits.

“I went to Germany, tried different podiatrists, had epidurals, insoles in my boots. The lot. I was probably putting myself more at risk of injury by heaping the pressure on. I wasn’t in a good place. I wouldn’t show any of my personality off the pitch.

“I was like a shell.

“When my Plymouth contract wasn’t renewed, I felt Dundee were my last chance. We were settled and happy in Devon so there was upheaval. I put more pressure on myself to make it a success.

“Things spiralled downhill from an ankle injury at Cove. I pushed myself back again, leading to more injuries. It was a constant battle. I was fighting against my body to force myself out on the pitch.