Rangers brought goalkeeper Allan McGregor back to Ibrox this summer.
Rangers youngster Robby McCrorie has told the Glasgow Evening Times that he has learned a lot from Allan McGregor – and has been following his career for years.
The Gers had a decent enough goalkeeper in place last season as Wes Foderingham was between the sticks, but new boss Steven Gerrard gave the green light to bring a new shot-stopper.
Having allowed his Hull City contract to run down, goalkeeper McGregor was available for free, and Rangers decided to bring him back to Ibrox.
A product of the Rangers youth academy, McGregor racked up nearly 300 appearances for the club before leaving upon their dissolution in 2012, heading to Besiktas, Hull and Cardiff City before being offered a shock return to Rangers.
Now 36, McGregor is still a top goalkeeper and has starred in goal for Gerrard this season, immediately displacing Foderingham as first-choice goalkeeper at Rangers whilst even challenging Craig Gordon in the Scotland ranks.
McGregor’s vast experience is vital behind a fairly youthful group of centre backs, but he is also having a huge impact on one of Ranger’s up-and-coming goalkeepers.
Robby McCrorie is looking to break through at Ibrox much like his brother Ross has, and he has told the Glasgow Evening Times that he trained with McGregor in his first spell with the club, and has continued to rack his progress over the last six years.
McCrorie hailed McGregor’s attitude towards him since returning to Ibrox, and now thinks he can go and emulate the Rangers stopper in becoming a first-team regular, with the veteran highlighting the importance of loan moves for first-team exposure.
“Allan has been a massive influence on me,” said McCrorie. “In his first spell at Rangers, I trained with him a little bit and then he moved on and did really well. I always kept track of him because he is someone that I have always looked up to since I was a kid. He has been brand new with me since I came in and he is easy to go and speak to and ask about things in terms of what he has experienced. It is great being able to learn from someone like him and it can only help me in the long run.”
“I think he was 24 when he first made real breakthrough and for people in the public that might seem quite old. But from a goalkeeper’s perspective, that is about right, especially when you are at a massive club like Rangers. I do think the loan moves helped him massively and he has said that to me. It would be great for me to follow in his footsteps. Now I train with him every day and I am getting to know him a lot better. The first thing I noticed was his winning mentality and you can see that on the pitch. But even in the background, if we are playing small games, you need that. That is what it is all about and it is great being around him,” he added.
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