Cambuslang Rangers co-boss Billy Campbell has hailed Andy Goram’s ‘unbelievable character’ in an emotional tribute to their former coach.
Goram passed away at St Andrew’s Hospice on Saturday, aged 58, having tragically lost his battle against cancer.
Known as ‘The Goalie’, Goram spent seven trophy-laden years at Ibrox from 1991-98, and played for other clubs in Lanarkshire, including Motherwell and Hamilton Accies.
The Scotland internationalist spent some time as a coach at West of Scotland League club Cambuslang, and Campbell says he and co-boss Paul McColl were lucky to know him.
Campbell said: “From the minute we met him when he came in, to the end – and we were fortunate enough that we spent a bit of time with him in hospitals and the hospice as well – right to the final time that we saw him, Andy was the same guy.
“What a character, and what strength!
“I saw a story where Ally McCoist spoke about the bravery of the man – he was unbelievable, it’s humbling how brave and strong he was.
“Still being the character, the way he got on with the nurses and the doctor, he was still making us laugh – an unbelievable character of a man.”
Campbell added: “From a footballing perspective, for us, he was fantastic. We’re so lucky to have had a professional footballer of his stature supporting us in training, and he absolutely made the difference to our team.
“He played probably a bigger part than he thought. What he taught players and how he brought them on was phenomenal.
“From the minute I met him to his unfortunate passing he was brilliant with us, absolutely brilliant.
“We talked constantly. Paul and I had him in three times a week and we were constantly talking about football.
“You could tell he thrived on that side of it, that’s what he did best.
“He was brilliant at it, and for me I’m humbled at times when I think of the man, just being with him for all that time and so much – we just got on very, very well.
“He was great with the boys, they loved him. He was a great character, and even with the amount of people that stopped him and asked for photographs or autographs, not once did he even look like he had an inkling of saying ‘no’. – every single time, it was never a problem.
“He was just brilliant with people, young and old. He was a very respectful man.”
Campbell was with Goram at the end and says the news on Saturday will have hit people far worse than it did him.
He said: “It was such a terrible thing.
“It was 10 weeks from diagnosis, and the poor soul was told at that point he had up to six months, and then to be told that again...
“His character never changed. He never changed. He was the same guy, he was strong, brave, and an unbelievable character of a man.
“It’s terrible for his family and the guys who had spent a lot of time with him over the years.
“I was talking to Charlie Miller a few weeks ago and he was saying when he joined Rangers he was with The Goalie right away, so he’s known him for 30 years, and he was a huge part of their lives, so it’s terrible.
“You can’t even begin to relate how difficult that will be for his family.”
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
