My sister-in-law died of a brain tumour and her three girls are crazy about football. I like to think she would be proud of me
Rangers boss Thomson aims for a joyful final farewell
ATRADITIONAL West of Scotland male, first impressions would not lend themselves to Malky Thomson being a pioneer for the progression of women’s football. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and Thomson’s journey as he has overseen the growing professionalisation of Rangers women’s team has been about so much more than just coaching and managing the growth of the club.
Just as his sister-in-law, Jill Thomson, was losing her fight against a debilitating brain tumour, the role with Rangers women was on the horizon. And leading the charge as Rangers have become one of three forces within the SWPL has been as much about making his sister-in-law proud as it has been about nurturing his three young nieces who lost their mum.
‘I lost my sister-in-law about four or five years ago and my brother was left with three girls,’ said Thomson. ‘Taking them to hockey and being involved with them had a major play in it (taking the women’s job at Rangers) because they are sporty.
‘Young Athena, aged just six, is besotted with football, besotted by these girls who I am coaching who are now her heroes.
‘Jill was really young. She was in her late thirties when she died. It was horrendous. She had a brain tumour. It’s something that’s really stuck with me, that these young girls are so besotted with the sport.
‘Wee Athena is captivated by Maddie Nolf and Kirsty Howat, who does a bit of coaching as well as playing. She coaches some of the young girls and it’s joyous for me because you are actually seeing things happening.
‘It’s now become second nature to say things like, “Have you got football training?” whereas before you wouldn’t have spoken that way. Well, I certainly wouldn’t have.
‘It was strange how it happened, that (getting the Rangers manager’s job) was at the tail end of Jill’s illness and I was just getting involved with women’s football.
‘100 per cent she would be proud. My brother is an ex-police officer, retired now, and he is bringing up these three girls whereas I brought up two boys. Boys are boys and I never gave it a second thought about where they are going or what they are doing but when you actually start coaching female athletes, there are similarities but there are differences as well.’
Thomson will be in the dugout for the last time this afternoon as he looks to depart his managerial duties by claiming the Scottish Cup. If there has been a personal legacy from leading Rangers to their first SWPL title last season, there have been intangibles, too, that have come from watching the integration of the women’s side into the Ibrox club.
‘I’ve always been the type of person (for whom) people matter, lives matter,’ said Thomson. ‘I think when that “one club” mantra came in, it was evident that nobody really saw what was happening way, way back at the start when the integration was there.
‘Nobody could really quantify it unless you were living it and seeing it. Simple things like walking down a corridor and James Tavernier saying to Kathy Hill, “Great result at the weekend there”. Even things like our girls having the confidence to go and speak to the men’s firstteam players in that kind of equal way of, “I’m a professional, you’re a professional, we’re in the same building”.
‘Standing back and watching that was great.
‘It’s a good place. It’s the right time to be doing what I’m doing.’
Thomson will return to the academy structure at Rangers after three seasons with the women’s team. He was responsible for the timing of the announcement this week in the lead-up to the Scottish Cup final, believing that the news will offer an incentive for the players to sign off with a big result.
They have already banked the League Cup this term and will look to offset the disappointment of failing to clinch the league title last weekend with a cup double.
He has warned that set-pieces will be something that his side need to be cautious of this afternoon, all the more so since Celtic’s Caitlin Hayes has been a perennial threat in the box this season from corners and free-kicks.
‘We are quite a confident group to handle the 90 minutes in general play,’ said Thomson. ‘The goals that we have conceded have been setpieces, free-kicks, corner-kicks.
‘When you look at the men’s game down south, a lot of the Championship games are won or lost around set-pieces.’