McCrorie draws on influence of Rangers mentor
ROBBY McCRORIE, the Livingston goalkeeper, has lauded the nurturing influence of Allan McGregor as the Scotland under-21 internationalist seeks to prove he has the character and quality to succeed the Rangers veteran at Ibrox.
The 21-year-old has shone since joining Livi on loan in January, keeping two clean sheets in six appearances and only tasting defeat on one occasion.
McCrorie has been farmed out to Berwick Rangers, Morton and, now, the Lions in a bid to cut his teeth in the senior ranks and he is adamant the experience of league football is irreplaceable to his progression. However, he reckons the grounding he has received at his parent club, particularly from ex-Scotland keeper McGregor, has been similarly invaluable.
“It’s the mental side of the game that I’ve learned the most from Allan [McGregor],” said McCrorie.
“He took me to the side and told me to focus myself, work as hard as I can and that’s the mentality you need to have. You need to put yourself first.
“He’s great with me just as everyone else was.
“I’m now at a stage where I think I’ve got better at not getting too high with the highs, or too low with the lows. I’ve been steady all the way through.
“Then obviously there’s the stuff on the pitch and in training, because he’s a top keeper. I’ll analyse what any player does and take wee things from them that I could add to my game and make me better.
“We get on well with each other and push each other. We’ve got a good training group back at Rangers.”
Indeed, McCrorie first recalls working with McGregor as a fresh-faced 14-year-old prior to his move to Besiktas which followed Rangers’ financial collapse of 2012.
Even at that age, cocksure McCrorie was convinced he would one day be the Ibrox side’s No.1 – but he never imagined it would be McGregor he would need to usurp.
“I was 14 when I first started doing a few sessions with the first team,” recalled McCrorie, who is contracted to Rangers until 2022.
“It was him and Neil Alexander and I learned a lot from Neilly too.
“Greegsy was there and you could see how driven he is. It’s good for a young player to see that in someone who’s been there and still have that hunger.
“I never thought that he’d come back but you need to believe in yourself that you can eventually get to that level.
“You don’t want to be arrogant – that’s the wrong way to go about it – but you need to have that self belief.
“I think I’m doing the right things in terms of being at Livingston, and my previous loan moves, which should stand me in good stead.”
It is impossible to imagine a more effective way to catch the eye of Steven Gerrard then shutting out Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Nor is it an outlandish thought, given the Bhoys have failed to score on their last two visits to West Lothian.
And aside from his long-term Ibrox aspirations, if McCrorie can help to inspire a repeat of Livingston’s 2-0 win over the Hoops in October, it will only serve to further enhance their credentials as shock European contenders.
“Given who it’s against tomorrow it’ll get attention,” smiled McCrorie. “But I honestly go into every game trying to do the best I can. As soon as you start singling out games and looking too far ahead, that’s where it can catch up on you.
“It’ll be a full stadium and another experience that I need to soak up and enjoy as much as I can.”