IT’S TRUE BLUE GRIT
Halliday is determined to prove that he belongs at his beloved Rangers
THIS is a fight into which Andy Halliday will invest heart and soul. By striving to keep defying those willing to write him off, the 27-yearold hopes his signature can be placed on a new Rangers contract.
Halliday is now into the final 12 months of his existing deal, signed back in January 2016 when Mark Warburton’s managerial tenure was still enjoying its bloom of early optimism.
The mood soon changed. For Rangers and for Halliday.
The midfielder-turned-fullback was subsequently ostracised on loan to Azerbaijan by then manager Pedro Caixinha before enduring on-field miseries under interim boss Graeme Murty.
Many predicted Halliday would exit Ibrox but he showed the drive and determination needed to return to the fore as part of Steven Gerrard’s plans. The former Liverpool captain clearly values his qualities.
Picked ahead of Croatia international Borna Barisic for Thursday night’s 2-0 victory over Progres Niederkorn, Halliday turned in another solid performance as Rangers took a step towards the third round of Europa League qualifiers.
The former Livingston, Middlesbrough and Bradford player is now determined to continue in a similar vein over the weeks and months ahead.
There could scarcely be a bigger incentive than remaining at the club he grew up supporting.
‘If I have the same 12 months as I had in the last 12 months, then I’m confident I can extend my stay at Rangers,’ said Halliday.
‘But you’re fighting for your career every week at this club. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got three years left or 12 months.
‘There are guys who have longer deals than me who are in that boat. But I’m happy with where I am at the moment and, hopefully, I can stay longer.
‘I feel as if I’m out to prove people wrong every week. I got released by Rangers when I was 16, so I have been trying to prove people wrong since I came back at 24.
‘I don’t think that will change. I’m sure there are fans who still think I’m not good enough to play for Rangers and others who think I’m a very good player.
‘If I have the consistency I’ve had in the last year, then I hope there will be more of the latter.’
Much is made of Halliday’s fandom. And it’s true he would be watching Rangers from the stand if he wasn’t out on the pitch. But does he ever feel that narrative can detract from him being judged purely as a player?
‘When I was 14, people used to say the same about Barry Ferguson — he was a fan playing for the club,’ added Halliday. ‘But he went on to win 60 caps for his country and countless medals.’
Halliday had been exiled by Caixinha to Gabala by the time Rangers suffered their worst-ever European result with that infamous defeat to Progres two years ago.
Thursday evening’s win over the same opposition was a step towards the club exorcising those demons, yet a slew of missed chances means work still has to be done in the second leg in Luxembourg next week.
Finishing the job will secure a trip to face FC Midtjylland in Denmark seven days later. Halliday would relish that challenge but remains reluctant to peer too far into the future.
‘I think last season we showed that we can certainly compete in the campaign but we’re not going to look beyond Progres,’ he said.
‘Given the result we had two years ago, we have to put that right. Obviously, you take interest in the draw because you are involved in it and I am sure Midtjylland are a very good team.
‘They have played in the Europa League for a few years now and we will look at them when the time comes. But we have a hurdle in front of us first.
‘Since the draw, I looked up a bit on Midtjylland and they are currently second in their league after a couple of games. They also won the Danish Cup final. So they are a good team and it will be a test for us. But, like I said, we have to deal with Progres first.’
Halliday believes Gerrard’s summer transfer work has created a squad ready to deal with the rigours of a 60-game season should Rangers reach the Europa League group stage.
That is a sizeable task, with a play-off round lying beyond the Danes if the Ibrox team make it that far. Halliday draws belief, however, from the success of last season’s qualification bid.
‘They were very difficult games last year,’ he reflected. ‘Maribor was a really stern test. I thought they were a good team and over there we had our backs against the wall for the majority of the game.
‘Thankfully, we did enough at Ibrox to get the result to go through. Then you look at Ufa and the hardest 90 minutes of my career. Being down to nine men (both Jon Flanagan and Alfredo Morelos were sent off), it was no mean feat.
‘It certainly wasn’t easy by any means to get to the group stage, but we felt with the amount of games we played last season that we belong in the competition.
‘You look at two years ago and going out at the first round against Progres. You go into the competition the next year and, as a football club, was there an expectation to get to the group stage? Outside, probably not.
‘As a group of players, though, we were confident. And we have to take a lot more confidence on the back of last year that we can do it again. It will be difficult but if we go again this year, it’s certainly a good step forward.’
ANDY HALLIDAY was speaking as Rangers launched a groundbreaking campaign ‘Everyone Anyone,’ which aims to unite people from all backgrounds, cultures and communities.