Ricky’s part in the rise of Murty
SCOTLAND youth coach Ricky Sbragia signed Rangers caretaker boss Graeme Murty as a 14-year-old.
He’s convinced handling today’s powderkeg Old Firm clash will not be a problem for the former Reading ace.
Murty will be in the dug-out this lunchtime, and while he has been catapulted from his Under-20s coaching role at Ibrox into one of the most volatile fixtures in the world, Sbragia insists nothing will faze him.
He recalled: “I actually signed Graeme for York City when he was 14. Middlesbrough were trying to sign him for two season-tickets – but we managed to keep him!
“At 16, we gave him a YTS contract and then he turned pro.
“I bumped into him at a Rangers-Hibs Under-20 game recently, and he said to me: ‘Remember when you used to shout at me at York’? I said: ‘Yeah, but I got you a pro deal didn’t I? And we sold you for £750,000’!
“He was a bit of a capture for York at that time, getting a player from the Middlesbrough area.
“You always had to get on at him. You’d shout at him to get up the line and he could do it.
“We just tried to drive him a bit more. We had a good team at York but he was one of our best signings.
“We sold him and he went on to do really well in his career.
“I don’t think Graeme has gone into the Rangers role blind – he knows the situation. And he’s had some good results lately.
“It’s great experience for him to see that side of management. It will help him as a manager and as a person to deal with first-team matters so early in his development as a coach.
“It will make him aware of what is up above.
“It’s about what he takes out of this Rangers experience. That’s what will make him better.”
“I’m not too sure about his head-stand at Dundee right enough, I didn’t teach him that! I’d have broken my neck!”