Jon McLaughlin has opened up on the Rangers ‘farewell’ gesture granted to Allan McGregor in the Scottish Cup final.
The veteran keeper was brought on for the closing stages of the 2-0 extra-time victory over Hearts at Hampden. McGregor was at the time set to leave the Ibrox club when his previous contract expired in the summer, with rumours abound that he was set to hang up his gloves.
But he’s since penned a one-year extension after talks took place in the weeks following the final. He’ll now battle McLaughlin for the number one spot this season, with boss Gio van Bronckhorst insisting that McGregor was given no guarantees over his first choice status before putting pen to paper.
And McLaughlin has now revealed that the decision to let McGregor take what appeared to be a final bow in front of the fans was a spur of the moment decision. He got a message to goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart as the Gers cruised to victory against the keeper’s former club, determined that his teammates Rangers career wasn't going to finish on the low of losing the Europa League final to Frankfurt three days earlier.
“It was just spur of the moment,” he said. “There were obviously question marks over what was going to happen with Allan.
“We’d had the European Final during the week, which would have hurt him and felt like a negative. It wouldn’t have been great to finish the season like that. We were 2-0 up at half-time in extra time and I said to Colin, if we are still in this position with five minutes to go I was more than happy to let Allan get on.
“After the couple of seasons he’d had, he deserved to have that moment and to share in it. It was great to have the luxury to do that and hopefully he was happy to get on and share it.”
Fourth choice keeper Andy Firth left the club over the summer. Robby mcCrorie was linked with a shock move to Manchester United after McGregor’s extension was confirmed, but is set to stay put as things stand.
Youngster Kieran Wright has been added to the first team squad following Firth’s departure to take the goalkeeping contingent up to four again. And McLaughlin is glad to see some continuity in that department.
“We have a really good group with Greggsy and Robby," McLaughlin told Rangers TV. "Firthy was the first guy to leave the group and he was an amazing guy to have about.
“We’ve now got Kieran and it’s the first time I’ve been at a club where the group has all stayed together, with Colin as well, because you often get that turnover with keepers.
“It’s been great to keep that unit together. There’s a lot of talent and we work well together, which brings out the best in everybody.
“It’s always great to have that stability of knowing where your future lies. It’s been great to have the first couple of years. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to come to this club and we see a big future here.
“It’s great to have signed the new deal and have the same group to work with. You know exactly what you are going to get and I’m looking forward to bigger things in the coming seasons with the group the boss is building.
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