The Steven Gerrard 'aura', harsh Covid-breach lesson and why he swapped Rangers for Watford - Dapo Mebude interview

He was part of the infamous ‘Covid Five’ along with Ibrox teammates Bongani Zungu, Calvin Bassey, Nathan Patterson and Brian Kinnear that were banned for six matches for breaching lockdown regulations back in March last year.

Mebude, now plying his trade with English Championship side Watford, was on loan at Queen of the South at the time of the incident but it is one that has had a lasting impact.

He told the Rangers Review: “At that time, we were still young and there are certain things that you can’t do and there’s a time and place for things.

“We were just being young and naïve, you do the wrong things and you think you can do something that you can’t.

“But 100% I’ve learned from that and it’s helped shape me into the person I am now.”

Despite facing the wrath of Steven Gerrard, Mebude was highly regarded at Ibrox, so much so he was offered a contract extension only to turn it down in favour of a move to Vicarage Road.

He admits it was a difficult decision to leave the club he had come to call home after nine years of progressing through the youth ranks to the senior setup

He said: “From a young age, I’ve always set myself targets and one of them is I’ve always wanted to come to England because obviously I was born there so I always wanted to come back by a certain age,” he said.

“I envisioned maybe playing for Rangers after making my debut for a couple of seasons and then moving.

“I think if I was growing up maybe five years before where there wasn’t so much pressure on stopping Celtic and such high demand on winning 55 then I would’ve got a few more chances.

“But I looked at it and thought for the best of my career I had to move. I wanted to be at Rangers but I thought it was the right time to leave. I was definitely sad to leave the club because Rangers is a massive part of my career, I love the club and that’s where it’s home for me but I can’t stand still and wait about. Maybe one day I’ll end up back at the club and that would be good but I didn’t want to wait, I wanted to do things on my own terms.”

Mebude’s talent stood out when he was spotted as a 10-year-old while taking part in the club’s Soccer Schools. He wasn’t the only player who caught the eye at such a young age. 

“The Academy was good,” he explained.“When I first came, I was quite quiet. Obviously, I was in a new place so I was just doing my own thing and trying to do well and work hard but then as I got to like under 14s/15s, I started to develop a lot faster than some of my teammates and I realised how good I was at the time. After that, it was a bit more difficult because I started training with boys older than me and I was exposed to full-time training quite early so I was doing a lot of gym work and a lot of running sessions that were a lot harder than my usual training.

“On my first day, Nathan Patterson was there and Billy Gilmour was there as well. We were the three from my age group that worked our way through to the first team.

“Nathan was always really good at a young age then he grew and got a lot bigger and filled into his body. He went to another level and Billy was always good from a young age and always giving me good assists.”

Mebude was a mere 15 when he first sampled first team training and it’s a day he’ll never forget.

He said: “I was lucky because I was just getting ready for training with the reserves and then a player must’ve got injured and they told me they needed me to come round. I remember it because, at that age, I knew I was getting close to the first team. I was training with the reserves and it wasn’t as hard as it was at the start so I thought that was always the next step for me.

“I always remember it because there were a lot of good players in the first team at that point.

“At the time when I went round, Niko Kranjcar was there, Bruno Alves was there and Kenny Miller was there too. As a young boy, you watch all these players on TV so seeing them in person was a bit daunting at that age.

“My first session was so difficult but then after that, I then trained for another couple of months and I noticed a difference in myself because I had matured a lot but the first time I thought it was so difficult.

“Graeme Murty took me round initially. At that age when he came into the club, he was good with the reserves. He went into a lot of detail about things and he challenged me so even if I was doing well, he wouldn’t always tell me I was doing well. He’d tell me to work harder but he was good for my development.”

Mebude and former Rangers mentor Graeme Murty embrace at full time of the Youth League match with Slovan Bratislava

As Graeme Murty’s time as caretaker boss came to an end, his successor would render Mebude speechless as Steven Gerrard was sensationally appointed as Rangers manager in the summer of 2018

“When the gaffer got the job I was still just 16. I obviously saw the videos of him arriving at Ibrox and growing up a Liverpool fan he was always one of my idols,” he recalled.

“I thought this is crazy he’s going to be the manager. I was still at the point where I was in the reserves but I didn’t know if it was too early for me to break into the first team so I kind of looked at it like, ‘Oh my god, he’s at the club!’

“I didn’t believe he would be my manager but I think everyone was the same. Everyone couldn’t believe that he was here and then when he came in, his aura was just crazy. I remember when I saw him in the indoor hall for the first time, everyone was looking back saying, ‘Wow!’

“He was probably the biggest part of my career so far.

“He was a really good coach and obviously his staff as well. Mick Beale was a really good coach too. He helped me come on leaps and bounds as well as Gary McAllister and Tom Culshaw. Just being with them was good because they looked after me quite a lot.

“When I look back on it, I was a baby back but they let me enjoy my training.”

Mebude would make his one and only appearance for the first team when he came on as a second-half substitute for Daniel Candeias in the final game of the 2018/19 season as Rangers succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

He may have been on the losing side but his time on the pitch will remain with him forever.

“The manager told me that I was going to make my debut a week-and-a-half before,” he explained.

“I was training well and I was on the brink of it. I was on the bench a couple of times and in squads quite a lot.

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“We had a behind-closed-doors game against Liverpool and I scored two goals and the gaffer told me the next morning that if I continue training and playing the way I was I would make my debut next weekend against Kilmarnock. We then had the Under 18 Youth Cup final three days later, we beat Celtic and I scored in that and then the gaffer pulled me the next morning after that game and said, ‘You’re going to make your debut this weekend against Kilmarnock. Tell your family and friends to come up.’

Mebude and former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard

“I remember everything about it. I had waited so long for it because I thought I was going to make it so many times that season but it was good because my mum and dad were there, my next-door neighbour was there because he’s a season-ticket holder, my agent came up too, everyone was there.

“It was a big deal because when you sign professionally at 16 or 17, you’re a professional footballer but you’re not actually a professional because you’ve not done anything yet so to make my first game at 17 was really good.”

Mebude would play alongside Alfredo Morelos who would score in said match but he joked the Colombian was often a law onto himself.

He laughed: “You could obviously tell he was a great player but he was just funny.

“You just never know what he was going to do. His English is better now but at the time I used to think that he didn’t understand what the coaches were saying, he just got on the pitch and done his thing but he was a good laugh.”

For Mebude, his hopes of becoming a more permanent fixture in the first team squad would fail to materialise, largely due to bad luck.

He explained: “I look back at the end of my time at Rangers and it’s a bit unfortunate.

“I came back in pre-season, done well and then we had a Europa League qualifier and the gaffer told me I was going to play in that game. Three days before I had a reserve team game and I got injured so I missed that game.

“In my head, I often think if I played that game then it could’ve been different because I think the first leg was 6-0 against St Josephs so I was thinking if I play in this match I’ll probably get a goal and if I score I’ll probably get a few more opportunities.

“But I missed that through injury. I kept training throughout that season and then I went to Dubai in January for a training camp and done well again.

“In the Scottish Cup game against Stranraer, that’s the game that Nathan [Patterson] made his debut, I was going to be involved but I got glandular fever on the third or fourth day in Dubai. I tried training through it because I really wanted to make another appearance. I was thinking this could be the start for me to kick on so I trained on one of the days and I couldn’t even speak because my throat was all messed up from glandular fever.

“I was thinking in my head there are two more days left just get through it but I got so sick I couldn’t move so I missed another game through illness. So key moments after my debut I think I was a bit unfortunate.

“I look back sometimes and think, if that had gone differently maybe I would be in a different position and maybe I’d still have been there but I look back at my time there really well. I left on my own terms. I would’ve been angrier at myself if I had maybe got released but when I got offered a three-year deal I just thought at the time it was time for me to maybe move on.”

Interestingly, all five of the ‘Covid Five’ have since moved on with the most notable departures being Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey who were acquired by Everton and Ajax for record-breaking fees.

Mabude says their moves come as no surprise: “I can believe it because I always had a belief in my friends and teammates,” he said.

“When I watched them on the training pitch and played with them I felt maybe they didn’t have the opportunity at that moment before but I knew when they got the opportunity that they would take it and do really well. I’m proud of them that they’re doing really well and I hope they kick on to the next level as well.

“There’s a couple of other players that I like and that I’ve played with who are still waiting for their opportunity.”

For Mebude, it remains to be seen what his immediate future holds. He spent last season on loan at League One side AFC Wimbledon and it’s thought Watford are keen on him gaining more experience before considering him for their own first team.

Wherever he ends up, he will continue to support Rangers from afar.

He said: “I watch their games and I always want them to do well. I still keep in contact with a lot of people there so they’re a club in a good position right now and hopefully they win the league this season.

“I watched every single game of the Europa League last season, they were amazing. It was unfortunate they got beat in the final. It’s just little moments like Ryan Kent with that opportunity in extra time. Football just swings in different ways sometimes.

“They’ve got a strong squad and they’ll be expected to win every game but I’ll definitely be watching them as a supporter all the time.”