Nacho chat put Ross’s mind at rest for Old Firm
Ross McCrorie’s star went supernova thanks to Pedro Caixinha.
But the teenage Rangers hopeful kept his feet on the ground after a pep talk from Nacho Novo.
McCrorie made his first start in Light Blue in the white-hot atmosphere of an Old Firm clash, only days after being tipped as both the club and country’s future at centre-half.
The pressure could have destroyed the 19-year-old, whose chance came after Bruno Alves succumbed to a calf injury.
Instead, he rose to the challenge. And he has revealed much of that was down to the words of encouragement he received from an array of past and present Gers men.
“Bruno Alves has been great with me. In fact, not just him but all the players,” said McCrorie.
“Kenny Miller spoke to me before the Old Firm game, and I even had a phone call the night before the game from Nacho Novo.
“So everyone chipped in and helped me.
“Nacho just told me to stay calm and enjoy it. It’s the biggest rivalry in the world.
“I know Nacho because he comes into training at Rangers sometimes, and has a chat with me.”
Rangers Manager Caixinha talks to McCrorie too – but he also talks about him.
“Ross McCrorie is going to be one of the best centre halves in history, not just for this club but for this country,” was the Portuguese’s assessment after McCrorie’s first stand-in showing of the campaign against Partick Thistle.
The Portuguese was criticised in some quarters for heaping pressure on the youngster’s shoulders.
To the teenager’s credit, however, he refuses to let it get to him or swell his ego. “I saw that,” McCrorie admitted. “To be honest, I just took that in my stride. I didn’t read too much into it.
“Obviously, it’s great what the manager said. But I am a level-headed boy, so I won’t get too carried away.
“I’ll just keep trying to do my best and see where it takes me.
“It’s great that’s what they think of me so far.
“But it won’t go to my head. I am not going to be big-headed about it. I will stay level-headed and just see what happens.”
McCrorie is with Scotland’s Under-21s as they aim to build on the solid 2-0 win over Holland last month in European Championships qualifying.
A comprehensive 3-1 defeat from England on Friday night in Middlesbrough came as a blow.
But the Gers star’s fellow centre-half, John Souttar, insists the young Scots can bounce back with a win in Latvia on Tuesday.
“England have top players, and they’re a top team,” said the Hearts man.
“But it’s 90 minutes. They drew with Holland and I thought we battered them.
“We probably sat back too much in the first half and gave England too much respect.
“And in the second half, we should have done better to stop their goals.
“But England away, on a big pitch, will be hard for everyone.
“We need to go to Latvia now and get a positive result. If we do that, we’ll be sitting on six points after three games, including England away.
“That will be a positive position.”