Edwards name up in lights at last thanks to Ryan

“My dad told me I had done more than he ever did”

EVEN the most fervent aficionado of Rangers would surely struggle to place the name of Alistair Edwards.

An 18-year-old striker straight from the Australian Institute of Sport production line, Edwards was spirited to Ibrox in 1987 by Graeme Souness on the promise of making it big in the Scottish game.

By the time he returned Down Under to sign for Sydney Olympic a year later, however, the player’s dream of pulling on a blue jersey for real had gone unfulfilled.

The false start in the game scarcely inhibited him. By the time he finished playing with Perth Glory in 2004, Edwards had enjoyed spells in Malaysia, Singapore, England — with Brighton and Millwall — as well as international recognition for Australia.

But if that first spell at Ibrox remained the one source of regret for the man who now coaches Malaysian side Real Mulia, the compensation lies in the impact his son Ryan is now having in Glasgow with Partick Thistle.

The midfielder, who played at Reading with his brother Cameron before moving to Scotland last year, has been involved in all seven of Thistle’s competitive games this season and appears to be central to manager Alan Archibald’s plans.

Almost 30 years after his father came, saw but failed to conquer the Scottish game, Edwards is delighted to go one better.

‘I have family here and I’m very settled,’ said the 22-year-old. ‘My grandparents came from Glasgow and Fort William. They now live in Perth (Australia) but I have cousins here.

‘My dad was in the Under-18s at Rangers before playing for Millwall and Brighton. He is now the sporting director at a Super League club in South Asia.

‘He messaged me after I made my debut last year and told me I had done more in Scottish football than he ever did, because he never played for Rangers.

‘My brother played in England, Australia and Malaysia, so we are a football family. He is now playing semi pro but is looking to get back into full-time football. We had a brotherly rivalry but we always want the best for each other.’

Edwards’ success in the British game may make him the exception rather than the rule in his family but few Australian players with talent to burn usually make some kind of impact here.

Mark Viduka (Celtic) and Craig Moore (Rangers) were the names who set the standard that the likes of Scott McDonald (Motherwell) and Ryan McGowan (ex-Hearts) had to follow.

For Edwards, who has already represented Australia at Under-23 level, the benefit of being central to his club manager’s plans as far as his full international prospects are concerned are clear.

‘I’m finished playing with the Under-23s, so it’s all about being called up for the full squad,’ he said. ‘My focus is trying to play as well as I can with Thistle and impress the national manager.

‘I am competing with the likes of Celtic’s Tom Rogic, former St Mirren man Aaron Mooy (now at Huddersfield) and Jackson Irvine (former Ross County midfielder now at Burton Albion) to get a place.

‘Australian coach Ange Postecoglou, said no matter where you are playing, if you are in good form, then you could be picked.

‘Guys like Tom and Jackson were chosen playing here and so can I.’

Thistle’s fine start to the season — they had racked up five straight wins — has been rather soured after a Betfred Cup exit to Dundee United and last week’s loss in the league at Aberdeen.

Hearts — fresh from thrashing Inverness Caley last week — would hardly be the visitors of choice to Firhill as the Jags look to get back on track.

But Edwards believes the continuity in the Thistle squad from last season will prove to be a huge boon as they seek to secure a fifth straight top-flight campaign.

He said: ‘The manager and the backroom staff have done a massive job in keeping the core of the squad together.

‘I’ve not been here for long but I know from previous seasons the team has chopped and changed a lot. Players have come and gone.

‘It was massive keeping Abdul Osman, (Stuart) Bannigan, (Stevie) Lawless and keeping the core of the team together.’