OUITE HAPPY TO FACE THE MUSIC
IN the absence of anyone brave, or perhaps stupid, enough to directly cross the Old Firm divide, the road between Pittodrie and Ibrox remains the most foreboding in the Scottish game.
Born and bred in Aberdeen, and a part of the local professional club since the age of eight, Ryan Jack didn’t need anyone to underscore to him the long-standing enmity that exists between two of Scottish football’s powerhouses.
Now 25, recently married and with a child to support, few in the Granite City would honestly have begrudged him the chance to assess his career options when his contract expired this summer.
The player well knows, however, that a move to Rangers was always going to be viewed as something of a personal insult to many who used to laud him.
Next Friday, when the SPFL release the fixtures for the new season, his eyes will scan the screen for one game and one game only. His Pittodrie return is unlikely to be accompanied by a marching band and bunting.
Yet, if being cast in the role of pantomime villain has troubled him since agreeing a three-year deal to join Pedro Caixinha’s side, he certainly hides it well.
‘I knew there would be a backlash and I knew there is that hatred maybe, if you say, between Aberdeen and Rangers,’ he said. ‘But that never affected me one bit in my decision and in terms of what I want to do with my career.
‘When I spoke to the manager here, straight away I thought this is the right place to come and try to progress my career.
‘It (the reaction in Aberdeen) doesn’t really interest me, to be honest. It is more my family and friends and people who mean something to me that I am going to listen to and take advice from.
‘I have some friends in Glasgow, I have my new team-mates, and the manager has also been very supportive of me, moving away from home and coming down here.
‘I am not interested in what anyone says apart from my new team-mates, my family, friends and the manager.
‘But, when the fixtures do get released, it will be one of the ones that I’ll be looking out for. I’ll be looking forward to going back up to Pittodrie.
‘It’s always a great game when Rangers are at Pittodrie. It’s a great atmosphere. There is no fear or anything like that. It’s just going to be excitement.’
Rarely would such occasions be confused with a Sunday school outing. In terms of how to handle the hostility that surely awaits, the player feels the clue lies in the title of professional footballer.
‘I wouldn’t imagine the reception I’ll get will be too great, but it’s part of football,’ he conceded.
‘Going from Aberdeen to Rangers, you know that flak’s going to come with it. Supporters aren’t going to be happy.
‘But, for me personally, I just have to be selfish, look out for my own career and what’s best for me and my family.
‘I will be looking forward to going back up to Pittodrie, playing against my former team-mates and getting booed, as well.’
It’s not as if there weren’t alternatives. MLS side Columbus Crew were prepared to offer him a contract every bit as lucrative as the one he signed at Rangers.
The capital of Ohio is an agreeable place — and one that comes without the baggage of Glasgow. But it’s a place that just didn’t get his blood pumping like his newly-adopted city.
‘There were a few options,’ said Jack. ‘But, when this one came up, it was the best. I have played here before and experienced the atmosphere. I know what the support is like.
‘I weighed it all up in my mind — the facilities, the way the manager spoke, the group that’s in the changing room, as well. They’re a great group of lads, and it all added up to being the right move for me.’
In dispassionate terms, his viewpoint is hard to argue with. Football, though, is intoxicating because of its fierce rivalries and passions. Fans who would themselves leap from one job to another if the price was right reserve the right to be one-eyed when someone like Jack does the same.
All of which makes news of an impending defection discomforting in the extreme.
‘I felt that, for my career, it was the right time to move on,’ he explained.
‘I said from the outset that I wanted to wait until the end of the season and my future would get sorted. I wanted to respect Aberdeen, respect the fans and respect my team-mates and not say anything until I knew exactly what was happening.’
What is happening at Jack’s new club is that Mark Warburton’s side is in the process of being fed to the shredder. If Graham Dorrans and Jamie Walker get over the line in the coming days, Caixinha will literally have recruited a whole new team.
Ensuring the whole is greater than the sum of the parts is the task of all.
‘I’ve only been in training since Monday, so it’s still early doors,’ added Jack.
‘But all the new signings have looked great. They all look like they want to try to impress. We are signing players, building the squad and looking really strong.
‘You can sign as many players as you like but, as soon as you go over that white line, it’s up to us to perform.
‘We want to get a good team spirit about us and make sure we go and do ourselves proud in the new season.’
Almost anything would be an improvement. Last season, Warburton’s shortcomings as a manager and a judge of footballers were soon exposed.
Notwithstanding the fact that Rangers were then a newlypromoted team, a 39-point chasm to Celtic and a nine-point gap to Aberdeen were embarrassing.
‘There is obviously a major effort required because the standards last season were not good enough for where Rangers wanted to be,’ admitted Jack.
‘Not all the new players are in yet but, when we get the squad together and talk about our aims for the season, then I’m sure we will know a lot more. It’s hard to judge right now, but I’m sure that we will be aiming as high as we possibly can.’
Monday’s Europa League draw ahead of a June 29 curtain-raiser will help focus the mind.
Caixinha’s men should skate past their opponents in the first qualifying round, but the three subsequent tests will be incrementally more difficult.
As well as Aberdeen acquitted themselves in recent seasons, they were unable to take care of Real Sociedad, Kairat Almaty and Maribor, respectively, at the third hurdle. For a new-look Rangers, to go two better is a tall order.
‘You have got to be ready,’ stressed Jack. ‘It doesn’t matter who you play. You could be playing someone that you have never even heard of before. But the guys are professionals and will deal with it.’
l RYAN JACK was promoting Rangers season tickets, which are available to buy now. For more information on season tickets, fans can log on to www.rangers.co.uk, visit the Rangers Ticket Centre or call 0871 702 1972 (calls cost 13p per minute plus network extras).