Tot Arthur is like Hardie’s lucky charm
Ryan Hardie knew a year ago he had to find a permanent solution to end his cycle of loan deals while trying to make his name as a kid at Rangers.
Raith twice, St Mirren and Livingston twice before he finally left Ibrox for Blackpool in 2019.
Two further temporary switches at Plymouth followed then he signed a permanent deal at the aptly-named Home Park in January this year.
The arrival of his first child Arthur prompted his decision to find a settled life and stability.
And that has benefited him both on the pitch and at home with his family.
Hardie said: “It makes me comfortable knowing that my family will be in Plymouth for the foreseeable future.
“It’s even harder now I’ve a little boy if I ever have to move on again.
“So it’s just me, Chloe and Arthur here now.
“Chloe’s been a massive part of it because it took a bit of convincing for her to move to England, firstly with Blackpool.
“It’s a massive thing for her because she’s a home bird, so to move eight hours away was a massive commitment for her.
“But we knew Arthur was on the way and it influenced the decision to sign for Plymouth.
“The hardest thing in lockdown was Plymouth is so far away. It’s eight or nine hours’ drive so you can’t shoot up the road.”
Hardie has got off to a flyer, with his strike in Plymouth’s 2-2 draw at Lincoln yesterday making it 10 in 13 games.
He puts that form down to the return of fans after a self- confessed lack of confidence last term.
But he’s now off and running and there’s one fan in particular he looks for every time he hits the net – his son Arthur. He said: “He’s always in the second row, right in the corner. So I need to score in the first half or it’s a long way to look for him.
“He’s my lucky charm this season, he’s not seen a defeat – so let’s hope that continues.”
The 24-year-old made his Rangers debut as a substitute in a League Cup win over Falkirk seven years ago.
It’s a moment he will never forget no matter what he goes on to achieve in his career.
He’d have loved to make it as a first-team regular for the club he supports but after his final loan at Livi, he made the difficult decision to leave the Light Blues.
And although it was a tough call, Hardie knows it was the correct one.
He said: “It was a dream come true to play for my boyhood club. But I felt my time at Rangers was up because I had done a lot of loans.
“It was a tough call. But for my career to progress, I had to move on and when the opportunity came up to join Blackpool I had to do it.
“After my last loan at Livingston I knew I had a bit of interest because of how well I had done.
“I felt if I wasn’t involved with Rangers in preseason, and I never felt like I was close enough, it was time to move on.
“I had to move on to get things started because I was 21 and time doesn’t stand still. To get where I am now, there were sacrifices and difficult decisions. It was a hard choice to make but I’m happy where I am now.”