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Graeme Souness in conversation with Follow Follow

Interview conducted by David Herd 40 years ago, Graeme Souness was sensationally appointed as the new player-manager of Rangers, and he will be appearing at Edmiston House on Friday 1st May to look…

40 years ago, Graeme Souness was sensationally appointed as the new player-manager of Rangers, and he will be appearing at Edmiston House on Friday 1^st May to look back on that momentous period in his life and in Rangers history. Before then, he took the time to talk to Follow Follow on the events of 1986 and that incredible first title-winning season under his management. This is a summary of The Magnificent One in conversation with Follow Follow writer David Herd.

APRIL 8th 1986 WAS ONE OF THOSE JFK DAYS FOR ALL RANGERS FANS OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE BEEN AROUND AT THE TIME WHEN YOU WERE PRESENTED TO THE PRESS AS THE NEW RANGERS MANAGER. HOW DID IT ALL COME ABOUT?

I was enjoying my football in Italy at that time, it felt perfect for that stage of my career with much less pressing and intensity as in England. I had that bit more time on the ball and it suited my ability to play a pass. I was nearly 33, and I genuinely felt I was capable of playing there for another couple of years. Then I got a phone call out of the blue from journalist Kenny Gallacher, who I knew from my time in the Scotland squad, and he asked me whether I would be interested in coming back to Scotland as player-manager of Glasgow Rangers. The obvious answer was Yes, and it took me less than five seconds to tell him so. I was told to expect a call from a guy called David Holmes, who I had never heard of, and he was on the phone almost the moment my call with Kenny ended.

David said he wanted to come to Italy to see me and tell me his plans for Rangers, and within a week he had flown into Milan from Gatwick, and I had driven to the airport from my house in Genoa to meet him there. We only had an hour as he was going back on the same flight. We never even got a chance to sit down, he bought two coffees and we stood talking as he gave me his sales pitch. I quickly told him he could get back on his plane, this was a move I really wanted. All I had to do was go talk it through with my family and then confirm my acceptance. Looking back, it might have seemed impulsive to say yes so quickly with all the upheaval the move would mean, but by the next day I phoned him back and told him he had his man.

Somehow we managed to keep it all a secret for a while, which is a hard thing to do in Scotland when it involves Rangers, but like when I signed Maurice Johnston a few years later, news didn’t leak out. I wasn’t looking for a job in management at the time, which probably helped prevent any rumours or speculation. Looking back, it’s the best thing that could have happened, who knows if I had turned the chance down, I could have ended up winding down my career then getting a first manager job somewhere like Tranmere Rovers! But there I was in my early 30s, given the opportunity to play and manage the team I supported as a boy. It was incredible.

ALL THE HEADLINES WERE ABOUT GRAEME SOUNESS THE MANAGER, BUT YOU WERE GOING TO BE A RANGERS PLAYER TOO. HOW DO YOU LOOK BACK ON YOUR PLAYING CAREER AT IBROX?

I don’t have any regrets about my playing career, how could I when I had such an amazing time at Liverpool, winning so many trophies in a truly great team. But in the back of my mind, I do often wish that the Rangers support could have seen me as a player at 27 or 28 when I was at my peak. What a support they are, but it’s more a little niggle than a regret, how could I wish I wasn’t winning European Cups every other year. But even though I was a veteran by the time I put on the Rangers shirt, it was a fantastic experience.

WE ALL REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT OF THAT FIRST SUMMER, AND THE BIG MONEY SIGNINGS LIKE CHRIS WOODS AND TERRY BUTCHER. BUT THE SEASON DIDN’T START TOO WELL. RANGERS LOST AT EASTER ROAD ON THE OPENING DAY, LOST TO DUNDEE UNITED AT HOME AFTER BEING 2-0 UP, LOST AT DENS PARK, AND LITTLE EAST FIFE TOOK A LEAGUE CUP TIE TO PENALTIES. IN THOSE EARLY WEEKS, AS THE TEAM FELL BEHIND IN THE TABLE, WAS THERE ANY PRESSURE WITHIN IBROX ABOUT THE POOR START?

Looking back, we got off to bad starts in most of my seasons at the club, I wonder now if I pushed the players too hard in pre-season. But in that first one, I was never too worried about things coming good. I could see every day in training how good we were and how good the players were. At a club like Rangers sometimes the shirt can be too heavy for players, but I had guys in there like the captain of England, he was the catalyst for it all by the way. I had total confidence in myself, and total faith in the players I had signed and what we were trying to do. I always thought we were heading in the right direction. And to be fair, I was never put under any pressure by David Holmes at that time, he was never anything other than totally supportive.

IT HELPED TO GET A COUPLE OF EARLY WINS OVER CELTIC, WITH THE FAMOUS DAVIE COOPER REVERSE PASS TO IAN DURRANT TO BEAT THEM IN THE FIRST LEAGUE GAME, THEN A WIN OVER THEM IN THE LEAGUE CUP FINAL. HOW IMPORTANT WAS WINNING THAT FIRST TROPHY FOR WHAT CAME AFTERWARDS?

It wasn’t about it being the first trophy, it was all about who we were up against. When I was appointed, in my first press conference I said that I didn’t care if Celtic beat us four times as long as we won the title. To be fair, that was the attitude at Anfield, we wouldn’t care if we had lost twice to Manchester United or Everton as long as we were champions. But as soon as I said it I knew from the reaction in the Blue Room, I had dropped a clanger. And I soon found out just how wrong I was, that attitude simply will never survive in Glasgow. I tried at first to treat it like just another game, but it’s just impossible, more than any other derby game I’ve been involved in. You just can’t avoid the expectation and the desire to win from the supporters and within the club when the game is coming around, and I quickly knew every game against Celtic was one we had to win at all costs. That first cup final was no different.

WHEN THE TITLE SUCCESS OF 1986/87 IS TALKED ABOUT, IT OFTEN CENTRES AROUND THE ENGLISH PLAYERS YOU SIGNED IN CHRIS WOODS, TERRY BUTCHER THEN GRAHAM ROBERTS. BUT LOOKING BACK, THE TEAM HAD A GREAT MANY HOMEGROWN REGULARS WHO WERE THERE BEFORE YOU ARRIVED AND WHO HAD PLAYED IN THE SIDE THE PREVIOUS SEASON WHEN RANGERS FINISHED FIFTH. IS IT UNFAIR THAT MANY THINK OF GRAEME SOUNESS AS A MANAGER WHO BOUGHT SUCCESS?

There were a lot of Scottish players in our team then. They were all good players, but in many cases they needed to be more professional. I had spent years in the most professional team in the hardest league in Europe, and we won as much because we were the best professionals. Yes, we liked a night out, but only at the right time, our life on and off the pitch was all about being the best players and the best team we could be. I wanted to instil that into my players at Ibrox, I wanted them fitter and stronger, and I think I mostly succeeded in that. What those players needed to understand was they would come up against highly motivated opponents every week who found that extra yard because they either hated the shirt my players wore, or they wanted to step into my players’ boots. That’s why Rangers don’t get easy games in Scotland, and that’s why Rangers players need to be super fit and super ready week after week. I was sure we had the best players in the country, but the best players still need to have both the physical and mental sharpness to allow their ability to come through. Making those players fitter and mentally tougher was vital in them succeeding at Ibrox.

THE SEASON ENDED IN GLORY AT PITTODRIE WHEN THE TITLE WAS WON AFTER NINE LONG YEARS OF FAILURE. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER FIRST OF THAT DAY – YOUR RED CARD, OR THE CELEBRATIONS?

I got set up for that red card, and I allowed myself to fall into the trap. I was always a player who would put in a challenge if one got aimed at me, and I really should have been more aware and a bit cuter that day as I was always going to be a target. My booking was frustrating as there were two of us going at it, but I got a yellow and he got nothing. Then I was foolish in going to ground in a tackle on Brian Irvine, and he went down as if mortally wounded, no doubt under instruction. Off I went, and I knew I had played right into their hands. But I choose to remember that day for two much happier incidents. The first was Terry’s goal, what a header it was. And the second was during the celebrations after the final whistle when we were going round the pitch to celebrate the title.

When I was at Liverpool, the club and the fans were used to success, they had been winning trophies year after year for some time. Their fans were accustomed to being first. But Rangers hadn’t won the league for nine years, and as Walter and I were going round Pittodrie a guy probably in his forties ran up to us. I’ll never forget what he said, he asked “Graeme, can I kiss your feet?” I looked at Walter and said to him “what do I do here?”, but before he could answer me, the fan was down on the turf doing it anyway! That day, the emotion and the passion of the Rangers fans was far greater than anything I’d ever experienced in football.

THAT WAS FORTY YEARS AGO NOW, BUT WHAT OF TODAY? DO YOU THINK RANGERS CAN BRING THE LEAGUE FLAG BACK IN 2026 UNDER DANNY ROHL? IF HE WAS TO ASK A TITLE-WINNING MANAGER FOR ADVICE FOR THE RUN-IN, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO HIM?

First, I have to say Danny Rohl has done a marvellous job. He has made things so much clearer for the players, and he has made winning the priority. Unlike the chap who started the season, his style of play and the way he approached the job were absolutely hopeless! When we think about the situation at the club when Danny took over, we are now in a position we couldn’t have thought possible back then.

As for the run-in, the key is to treat every 90 minutes as must-win, and to play the opposition and not the occasion. When I look at the Rangers squad and compare it to the other challengers, I genuinely think we have the best group of players. I look at Celtic, and I don’t think they are nearly as good as they have been in the past, if a neutral was to pick a team out of both squads I’m convinced there would be far more Rangers players in it that Celtic ones. But the only way to prove you are the best is to win the league. It looks as if we will need to go to Tynecastle and go to Parkhead and win. That’s definitely not beyond this group, and I’d be telling them it is a fantastic opportunity, one to relish and not anything to be frightened about. They can make themselves legends by winning just a few games, taking them one at a time, and with confidence.

FINALLY, YOU ARE BACK UP IN GLASGOW SOON AT EDMISTON HOUSE TO CELEBRATE 40 YEARS SINCE BECOMING THE RANGERS MANAGER. WHAT CAN THE FANS GOING ALONG THAT NIGHT EXPECT?

They can expect me to be forthright and honest, as ever, and I hope also entertaining. But Rangers are a serious business, and I will give them an insight to how it was back then, the mistakes I made, and the things I got right. Plus, of course, a few stories that might make them chuckle. I’m really looking forward to it.

A limited number of tickets are still available for An Evening With Graeme Souness on Friday 01 May at Edmiston House. The link below is for the Edmiston House sales website:

5 hours ago, Boyne said:

Was that taken after a 16 year old Derek Johnstone had just scored in the 1970 League Cup Final at Hampden?

Not a bad couple of midfielders…

Still shake my head in amazement,at having them play together a few times in the Rangers midfield!

3 hours ago, erskblue said:

Was that taken after a 16 year old Derek Johnstone had just scored in the 1970 League Cup Final at Hampden?

It was. A great header from DJ.

From 2002.

Twenty-five years since he passed. In my opinion would be in the greatest ever Rangers team and in the greatest ever Scotland team.

Posted many times before but worth posting again. Ibrox in 1945 when Rangers played Moscow Dynamo.

15 hours ago, Boyne said:

Posted many times before but worth posting again. Ibrox in 1945 when Rangers played Moscow Dynamo.

Possibly a crowd of 150,000 inside Ibrox that day !

From John Greig's testimonial on 16 April 1978. Rangers beat a Scotland XI 5-0. Greig scored 2, Bobby Russell scored twice and Derek Johnstone scored the fifth.

Plenty of ‘Wee Blue Cars’ at John Greig’s testimonial!

The old Broomloan Road Terracing was certainly packed! Along with all the rest of the Stadium!

Rangers v Bayern Munich. European Cup Winners Cup semi Final. Second Leg. 19th April 1972. Rangers won 2-0 against that great Bayern side. 80,000 was the official attendance. My old man always reckoned at there was at least 105,000 inside Ibrox that night

Jock Wallace held aloft, after Rangers drew 1-1 against Hibs to win the Scottish Championship. March 1975.

5 hours ago, erskblue said:

Jock Wallace held aloft, after Rangers drew 1-1 against Hibs to win the Scottish Championship. March 1975.

Great picture of a great manager.

5 hours ago, Scott said:

Quintin ‘Cutty’ Young.

Just found out that Quintin ‘Cutty’ Young sadly passed away today.

R.I.P.

Cutty Young scoring a great goal v Celtic. August 1975. Rangers won 2-1. This was the first ever Premier League game.

69,594 saw it! This remains the highest ever attendance at a Scottish Premier League game.