Rangers prospect King wearing his
Academy graduate explains tattoo that keeps him grounded at Ibrox
MIND over matter. It is a message and a mentality that inspires Leon King. The words inscribed on his right arm – separated by a dividing line – act as a reminder of where King has come from, where he is and where he wants to reach at Ibrox.
At just 18, the defender is still very much at the beginning of a career that offers plenty in terms of potential, but he knows himself how important the coming months will be.
Talked about as a star and stalwart of the future for quite some time already, this season could well be a breakthrough one for a player who has a burgeoning reputation and a chance to live up to the hype that others have created for him.
King has earned his stripes as he has risen through the ranks and his place in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad this term is fully merited given his performances and potential. Through it all, he hasn’t had to look far for the motivational words that are behind his rise and rise.
“I’ve had it for a wee while,” King said. “It was the first tattoo I ever got, so I think back to that when times get tough.
“I just think, being a young boy, it’s all mental when you come into a first-team dressing room with experienced, senior players.
“It’s about just trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Don’t get took ahead of yourself and don’t get too down.
“At a club like this, it can be nerve-wracking sometimes going out there and playing in front of 50,000 fans. It’s not normal for someone of my age to be going and doing that.
“It can get to you a wee bit, but obviously with the coaching staff, the support bubble around you and the other players, they make it a hell of a lot easier.”
King is living the dream. A boyhood Rangers supporter, his exploits in recent years have made family and friends proud and been a just reward for his efforts and his sacrifices.
Game time will come his way this season as he continues to learn from the likes of Connor Goldson and competes with summer signings Ben Davies and John Souttar for a spot at the heart of the Ibrox defence.
That challenge will test the versatile centre-half. It is a situation he himself never thought he would be in when he started out with his heroes.
“I’d probably have to say Connor [is my biggest influence],” King said. “Because he plays the same position as me and he’s someone I look up to in the squad.
“Funnily enough, I wasn’t always a defender. When I was growing up it was all the goal scorers – [Kris] Boydy and all the foreign players you saw playing in the Champions League and so on.
“When we turned to 11-a-sides, I was the biggest in the age group. So they just said: ‘Back there, son!’ It was probably for the best, to be honest.
“I wasn’t really too fussed. I was at Rangers and as long as I was playing – and playing for the team I supported – I was buzzing and my family was buzzing.”
The change of position
Playing in front of 50,000 fans... it’s not normal for someone of my age
didn’t knock King off his stride. Now he is determined to take further steps forward under the guidance of Van Bronckhorst this term.
He is one of the most inexperienced players within the Ibrox squad but his relative lack of years and game time are made up for by his talent and his attitude as King aims to prove himself this term.
King said: “At a club like Rangers you need to believe in yourself. If you have that belief in yourself and if you have the belief of your team-mates that they can trust you then you can go all the way.
“That’s what I am striving to do. I am trying to gain even more trust from the senior players. Once you have their trust then I think you can go far in this club.
“Having the senior players around you in training every day, even on and off the pitch, is massive.
“For being such a young boy coming into the first team squad it can be nerve racking and scary. But the senior players, the likes of Scotty Arfield, Connor, Tav and McGregor, they all back you. They are all great lads off the pitch as well.
“What’s the best bit of advice I have been given? Just to be myself.
“There’s no point in trying to be someone you are not, that’s not you.
“They tell me to go out and express myself and do what I would do if it was a normal youth game.”
Rangers will begin their bid for the Premiership title at Livingston this weekend before they return to the Champions League stage against Union Saint-Gilloise next Tuesday evening.
King will not be one of the first names on the team sheet for either fixture. His moments will come, though, and he is well aware of the significance of the season overall.
King said: “It is going to be pivotal I think. I’m trying to kick on and get as many minutes and appearances under my belt as possible.
“If that’s me pushing the other lads to play better or that’s me taking their spot then I’m all for it. I just think myself that it’s a big season for me.
“Obviously the manager has shown his trust in me in games last season.
“We have a good relationship, but then all the boys have a good relationship with the coaching staff. It’s about taking your chance when you get it.”