ONE DIRECTION
First-choice Foderingham targets a haul of winners’ medals
SIX weeks have now passed since Rangers lost to Hibs in the Scottish Cup final. But so crestfallen was Ibrox goalkeeper Wes Foderingham that he is still to bring himself to even look at his runners-up medal.
After the medals had to be handed out in the dressing room by reserve striker Ryan Hardie because of a pitch invasion by jubilant Hibs fans which sparked violent scenes, a despondent Foderingham tossed his into his glove bag before heading home.
It currently lies unloved in the back of a cupboard, and there it will stay until that 3-2 defeat at Hampden does not feel quite so raw.
Now the ex-Swindon Town keeper is hoping to bounce back next season and is intent on harnessing the hurt he feels in a bid to help Rangers win every competition they enter.
‘My Scottish Cup medal is still in a bag beside my gloves,’ shrugged Foderingham, whose depressing day at Mount Florida was compounded when a loutish Hibs fan confronted him on the pitch.
‘I’ve still not even looked at it yet, to be honest. To me, second place is second place. It’s nice to be in finals, but we didn’t win, so that’s that.
‘The glove bag is in my bedroom cupboard. Maybe later down the line I will do something with it, but only once the dust has settled a little bit.
‘For now, though, it can stay there because that defeat is still a bit raw.
‘The final was just a big disappointment. We hoped to win, we expected to win and put everything in to making it happen. It just didn’t go our way. ‘But even though our season ended in defeat and disappointment, it was still a fantastic season overall.
‘On a personal level, I was proud of how I made a difficult transition to come to a club with a massive fanbase. And how I was able to cope with the pressure here, week in, week out.
‘I thought my performances were good over the course of last season. And my experiences will stand me in good stead for this coming season. Every game we go into wanting to win and every competition we are in, we will try to win.
‘This year we will be going all out to win everything. There is no other way. That is just our mentality.
If Foderingham gives the impression he would not care if he never saw his runners-up medal again, there is one new possession which he has no intention of relinquishing.
He has been handed the Rangers No 1 jersey by Mark Warburton after wearing 25 last season.
With Cammy Bell injured for much of the past campaign before his departure to Dundee United, the goalkeeping position was not subject to change. But this coming season, Foderingham knows he will be pushed by new signing Matt Gilks.
However, he welcomes the arrival of the former Scotland squad keeper and hopes it will help him attain greater heights.
‘I think in all walks of life, you need competition,’ said Foderingham. ‘It’s healthy, it helps bring the best out in you and means you can’t rest on your laurels. You need to work hard.
‘Gilksy has looked fantastic in training. He has a great pedigree and experience that I probably don’t have in my career yet. So it will be a good battle.
‘Last season, when Cammy was injured, I knew I was going to play. I never took my place for granted, though, because that’s not the kind of character I am.
‘But Gilksy will put me under a lot of pressure. So I have to make sure my performances are up there.
‘I have the No 1 jersey this season. But the gaffer doesn’t guarantee anyone a place in the team. It is done on merit, so whoever is playing and training the best will play.
‘My form last season helped me in that department, but my performances in games and training will determine what happens. It’s up to me to keep my place.
In addition to Gilks, Warburton has recruited the experience of Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar, and Clint Hill alongside youthful trio Josh Windass, Matt Crooks and Jordan Rossiter.
Foderingham has been impressed by his new team-mates who have made it out here to the training base in South Carolina, and is looking forward to meeting Barton and Rossiter when the squad returns to Glasgow on Friday.
He believes the calibre of new player sends out a real warning to their Scottish Premiership rivals.
‘I don’t think it could have been any better,’ he said of Warburton’s transfer business this summer.
‘The one thing you could say we were lacking last season was a bit of experience. The squad was a little bit light.
‘The gaffer likes to work with a tight-knit squad but the demands are going to be different this season, so we’ll need to use the squad more.
‘He has brought in players with pedigree, players at a good age and players with experience to help the younger boys as well.
‘I’ve come across a few of them playing down south before but I hadn’t personally met them yet.
‘I don’t think anyone will underestimate us. I’m sure every side will know we are a threat.
‘Plus they would have seen what we did last season, including the game against Celtic (the Scottish Cup semi-final).
‘But we are going to be better this season. We will be a threat. It’s down to us to do our work on the pitch, concentrate on ourselves and everything else will take care of itself.’