FOR many of us, going to work on your day off doesn’t sound too appealing but for Andy Mitchell, it led to his biggest thrill in football.
The former Rangers defender, who is now plying his trade back in his native Northern Ireland for Larne, joined the Light Blues as an 18-year-old in 2010 from Manchester City.
The teenager arrived at Ibrox with a decent pedigree having come through the youth ranks at City playing alongside players such as John Guidetti, Omar Elabdellaoui and Loris Karius.
Despite having offers on the table to join a number of different clubs, the prospect of signing for his boyhood heroes was irresistible. He said: “I broke into the reserves at City and that was a big thing for me because, at the time, there was a big takeover and Thaksin Shinawatra came in and he started signing the Brazilians, Robinho, Jo, Shay Given signed, Vincent Kompany signed.
“I had a year left and Rangers were in for me then. They had been keeping tabs since I was 16 so when I was 18 they came around again.
“I think there was an under 19 development league still going on in Scotland so you had that extra year gap before you broke into the first team.
“I don’t think I was ready for first-team football and Rangers was a perfect opportunity for me. There were League One and Championship teams in for me but when Rangers came calling it was a no brainer.
“It was hard to turn them down when I was 16 so there was no way I was turning them down when I turned 18, not a chance.
“So I took the opportunity when I became 18 and never really looked back from it.”
Despite earning his dream move, Mitchell admitted he wasn’t prepared to cope with the demands placed upon him.
He recalled: “I really struggled to be honest, it actually took me by surprise.
“I came from Man City and I maybe had the wrong attitude and thought it was going to be too easy for me. That’s no disrespect to Rangers and I wasn’t big-time at all, it’s just I was coming from Man City, I thought it would’ve been a drop-down in standards from the Premier League but it totally backfired on me.
“It was totally the opposite, it was probably less football and more like a man’s game and the Scottish lads were quite streetwise compared to the English lads. I found it very, very hard to be honest in my first year.
“In my second year, it never really hit me until I got pulled in and they told me they weren’t going to renew my contract.
“It was really a penny drop moment for me because I was sort of living in a bubble at Man City where I felt untouchable, that I was always going to get a club and you never think about being released. I always felt like I was on a pedestal until that stage when I actually got pulled in by Rangers.
“It was Jim Sinclair and Billy Kirkwood and they just said to me, ‘Look, your contract’s up at the end of this year, we’re not going to be renewing it.’
“I still had another year left so I still had the rest of that season. It was just a moment for me to go, ‘Right, get your act together Mitch! This is do or die, you either want to be a footballer or you don’t.’
“That’s when it really kicked in that I had to really get my head down and knuckle down.
“I wasn’t a boy for going out and I wouldn’t eat the wrong things, I would do everything right but it was just the standard that really took me by surprise.
“You don’t realise how big the club is until you’re in that environment. I knew Rangers were massive, back home that’s all people talked about, you were either Rangers or Celtic. It wasn’t Liverpool or Man United, it was Rangers or Celtic.
“I remember I started going in on my days off when they told me that. I went in on a Wednesday on my day off and just by chance the first team were in and they needed a number. I was in doing my own bits and it was Ian Durrant who popped his head through the doors in the hall and said, ‘What are you doing kid?’
“I said, ‘I’m just doing a bit myself,’ and he’s like, ‘The first team need a number, do you want to train?’
“So I went round to train with the first team and I had jitters and butterflies in my belly. I actually did okay in training and that’s when I got my chance. Every time they wanted a number brought round it was my name.
“If I didn’t go in on my days off then I would’ve never had that bit of luck that I needed.”
The late great Walter Smith was at the helm when Mitchell first sampled life with the first team and admits his sheer presence was almost overpowering.
He said: “Walter was the manager when I first went round and trained.
“I remember when the gaffer [Ally McCoist] and Walter Smith used to walk down, you used to just put your head down and turn the other way, to be honest. He did have that aura about him, he was the man and everybody had that huge respect for him.
“I remember going round that day in training and the only thing he said to me was, ‘Alright son.’
“We used to call him the Owl, with those big eyes, you could spot him a mile away. It was intimidating but, at the same time, it kept you on your toes and it made you realise what it meant to be a Rangers player. It was a learning curve for sure.”
As Mitchell was learning what it takes to be a Rangers player, nothing could prepare him for one of the darkest days in the club’s 150-year history when the Govan side were plunged into administration on Valentines' Day 2012.
For a 19-year-old Mitchell, it has hard to comprehend. He recalled: “It was surreal.
“I was still in shellshock that I was training with Rangers first team. I remember hearing things but I was still on a buzz.
“I was in a lot of the meetings and I was sitting having my dinner with the first team lads who were all talking about it but I was just sitting there with my mouth open, not really listening to anything they were saying, just sort of realising I am in their company and taking every single bit of it in.
“Seeing it now, it was incredible, the stuff that was going on and the promises that were made. It’s quite scary to think now about what actually happened but at the same time what happened to the club had a real positive effect on me and many other young kids who were wanting to break through but, as a club, it was a shambles.
“People were losing their jobs and it wasn’t a nice environment. Having grown up now and looking back, it was actually chaos. I was in a bubble where I was just concentrating on football and training with my idols but at the same time there were people’s livelihoods being ruined.”
A little over a month later Mitchell would live out his boyhood dream when he was handed his first-team debut against Dundee United at Tannadice.
Despite losing 2-1, it was a day the Northern Irishman cherishes.
He beamed: “That was probably the best moment of my football career. I don’t think anything would top it.
“I remember training that week, I had a good session on the Monday and there was a reserve game on the Wednesday so I played in that and then I came in on the Thursday for a recovery and then on the Friday I was training.
“The gaffer never used to name the team until you got to the hotel or even on the day. You would never know the team until the day before.
“On the Friday, you usually ran around the pitch twice and done wee boxes and then wee games and that would be you. After the wee boxes, he got us all in and he said, ‘Lads, I’m going to name the team for tomorrow.’
“I’m oblivious to this so I’m just thinking it was class I was training with the first team. I was in one or two squads before that, not on the bench, just in the squad. There was a ruling at the time where you had to name so many under 19 players so I was always in and around the squad. My name would always be up on the wee sheet and then he started naming the team.
“Obviously, Allan McGregor started, he played Rhys McCabe right back, Kirk Broadfoot and Carlos Bocanegra centre-halves, Lee Wallace left-back and then he said, ‘Mitchell, Davis, Edu, Bedoya,’ and on the left was Salim Kerkar and upfront was Andy Little.
“I remember Kal Naismith punching me. I knew he said my name but I couldn’t digest it yet. All I could think about was just going to get my phone and telling everybody that I was making my debut.
“I remember McCoist pulling me after the session and just said, ‘Are you ready? Are you excited?’ I remember talking to him and I think I cried a bit and just had emotions going through the roof. He was like, ‘Don’t be telling anybody, I don’t want your family to know because it’ll get out and everybody will know the team,’ and I was like, ‘No, I promise I won’t gaffer.’
“I ran straight into the dressing room, grabbed my phone and told everybody in Northern Ireland!
“He started me ahead of Sone Aluko so that was on my mind because Aluko was flying at the time. I think we played Celtic in a week’s time. All I was saying to myself was, ‘Have a six or a seven out of 10 so you make the squad for the Old Firm,’ that’s all I could think about.
“We had a bad result but I did ok, I done enough to get myself in the squad for the Old Firm. That was probably the wrong mindset back then and I should’ve gone, ‘This is the chance I’ve been waiting for, go and take it.’
“I maybe got myself too nervous for the game but it’s easy enough to say when you’re starting for Rangers at 19 years old. It was a great feeling and a feeling you’ve worked towards but, at the same time, an absolute nerve-wracking feeling. That was the start of my Rangers career and I sort of established myself as a first-team squad member which was incredible.”
And earn a place in the Old Firm squad he did. With the prospect of Celtic winning the title at Ibrox, Rangers produced a thrilling performance to prevail 3-2 in front of an emotional Ibrox crowd. A crowd that terrified Mitchell.
He joked: “I remember going out to warm up and being absolutely scared out of my life and I ran back inside and sat down again!
“I sat in the stand and watched an Old Firm but to be actually involved and walk down the tunnel and hear Penny Arcade and Simply the Best was absolutely mind-blowing, it’s absolutely surreal.
“I remember going out to warm up and, it sounds weird but you can’t hear anybody, you just hear like a big blurry noise but it was incredible. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh my days, I hope no one goes down injured here!’
“It was just proper nerves but it makes you really proud to think I was involved in one of those games.”
The image of McCoist celebrating on the touchline is one that brings a tear to a glass eye and Mitchell says he was the glue that kept the club together during some dark times.
He said: “I can’t speak highly enough of him because he gave me my debut for my boyhood club.
“You could never say anything bad about him. Thinking about it now, the stuff that went on at the club when he took over was incredible and to keep that spirit going amongst the lads and keep the club intact, it was all through him.
“He just kept the whole place alive. He was a class act and had a great record with Rangers as well. I find his time as a manager very sad because I thought he could’ve gone on and done what any manager is doing now.
“He used to join in training, he was the lively person around the place. He, Ian Durrant and Kenny McDowall were top class people and always had time for you. They never walked by you and did not say hello or put an arm around you.”
Mitchell and his teammates would start the following season in the bottom tier of Scottish football as the journey back towards 55 began.
For Mitchell, it would be an injury-plagued campaign after a robust challenge from former skipper Lee McCulloch in training but he holds no grudges.
He joked: “I was probably too cocky, I remember skipping round him in training and I think I shouted something like, ‘Wheeey!’
“Next thing I felt was Jig’s right leg around my knee and I didn’t recover till about four months after that. But he came in after and just said, ‘I’m sorry.’
“But I got on well with Jig, the way he looked after all the young lads was incredible. He used to bring us to his house and have barbeques and poker nights. He didn’t need to do it, he was club captain and had his own family but he used to bring all the young kids round to his house.”
Mitchell would enjoy a run of games at the tail end of the season and would put in a Man of the Match display in the final match of the campaign as more than 50,000 packed inside Ibrox to see the club complete stage one of the journey back to the top of Scottish football. It was an unforgettable day for the Northern Irishman.
He said: “I remember finishing the season very strong, I was out of contract that year and the club were up in the air as to who they were signing and whether they were giving contracts out.
“I was doing really well, playing right-back and left-back and I had three or four Man of the Matches heading into the last game of the season against Berwick.
“I think I had about 55 of my family over so that was a moment in itself when I was named Man of the Match and lifting the league trophy at Ibrox in front of my family, it was a great achievement and a great honour.”
Despite finishing the season on a high, Mitchell’s time at Ibrox would soon be at an end and after an emergency loan spell at Annan Athletic, he would join the Galabankies on a permanent deal in January 2014. Like many who leave Rangers, Mitchell found the departure difficult to deal with.
He said: “It was really hard for me.
“I would never leave Rangers. I would’ve stayed and played on for free for the rest of my life but the club had other plans.
“The club were in a bad way at that time. I was told they needed to let players go to free up wages. I wasn’t on big wages but I got that they needed to reduce the squad. I had already played for Annan on an emergency loan and had played for Rangers that year as well so I could only go back to Annan because of the two-club rule.
“It was either stay and play reserve team football because I was told I wasn’t going to be with the first team or else leave and basically find myself a new club.
“So I went back to Annan which turned out a good move for me. I got a couple of good offers off the back of that and it sort of kickstarted my career. I was in and out at Rangers but to knuckle down and play regular football at Annan was a good move for me. I do think it was a bit of a jump down but I just wanted to go and play games.”
Spells at Southport, Crusaders and Linfield would follow before making the switch to Larne in 2020 where he combines playing with his own coaching school – AMJR Coaching but he still keeps a close eye on events down Edmiston Drive.
He said: “When you come out of Rangers and you speak to fans and go to watch games, you don’t actually care who they sign or what they do as long as when they go out on the pitch they do the business and give 100% and that’s all that really matters.
“If you sign for Rangers you’re going to be a good player, it’s just whether you can cope with being a Rangers player. I had a taste of that a bit and I understand how hard it is to be a Rangers footballer.
“I’m now a big fan of the club so like every other supporter I want to see them win every game whether. As long as the players on the pitch are doing the job and the manager is doing the job that’s all that matters.”
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