“I want him to do well, I just don’t want him to beat Rangers.”
Matt McKay and Ange Postecoglu go back a long way having worked together at club and international level.
But despite only pulling on the light blue jersey a handful of times during a brief stint at Ibrox, he’d love nothing more than an Old Firm victory over his former boss and friend.
McKay was playing under the current Celtic head coach with Brisbane Roar when he was snapped up by Ally McCoist in August 2011.
But his Rangers dream was over before it had really started as the club was plunged into administration on Valentines Day the following year with McKay being one of the first casualties of the financial collapse.
It all looked so promising the previous summer as McKay was made aware of interest from the Scottish champions.
“It was kind of a last-minute thing, Craig Moore let me know, we were in pre-season for Brisbane Roar.
“I was 28 as well, I didn’t have a British passport or a European passport so it was difficult for me to go overseas but I broke into the national team so when I heard the interest it was pretty flattering.
“It was an easy decision, I could’ve been comfortable and stayed in Australia but I did want to test myself, I wanted something different and obviously I knew how big the club was and we had a pretty big history of Rangers players at Brisbane.
“We had Craig Moore, we had Charlie Miller, we had Bob Malcolm. I was actually rooming with Charlie Miller, he’s an absolute legend.
“So I knew what it meant and how big it was.
“It was quite an easy decision, you don’t get those sorts of opportunities every day and I needed to test myself. I’d always regret it if I didn’t do it.”
However, McKay’s move wasn’t all that straightforward. He put pen to paper on a three-year deal in the middle of preparing for an international friendly against Wales in Cardiff.
“I was pretty entrenched in the national team, we had a window so when I signed I played against Wales in Cardiff,” Matt recalls.
“I just went up, had a look at the training ground, signed and then went to the national team game.
“But flying back in, photographers at the airport and going into Ibrox, it was pretty cool.
“You don’t get that in Australia where football is the number five ranked sport maybe if you’re lucky so you don’t get that kind of stuff in Australia.
“I really appreciated that, I always wanted to be in a football environment where you always had to battle so I enjoyed the atmosphere that it brought playing for Rangers.”
“Then I had to go back to Australia to get everything and come back again and by that time when we get there, the transfer window shut and also that international window had come and gone and within a month again I was away with the national team again.
“So I probably did two or three straight up international trips from there which is tough when you’re settling into a new club.
“My games I did play were around those windows so it was tough to come in and miss a whole week of training with international week and then come back from a big flight back from Australia and expect to fit straight back in.”
Despite making the dream move, McKay admits adjusting to the rather different climate took some getting used to.
“I hated the cold, I still hate the cold. It gets to 15 degrees maximum in Brisbane one day I think I’m going to die,” he laughs.
“I really did struggle with the cold, obviously you get used to it but I really struggled when it was really cold.
“Every day was a bit of a grind, keeping your feet warm when you’re playing and I was on the bench a bit so trying to stay warm and warm up and stay warm.
“It was funny, I look back now I think I was a bit weak but it was freezing, it was so cold.”
As well as the climate and playing catch up with the rest of the squad, McKay also admits he didn’t feel entirely like he was a McCoist acquisition.
“I understood more and more of what he did as a player for the club and obviously he was a huge player.
“You could see his quality even when he joined in with ‘Sheva’, you couldn’t get the ball off him but he was a really good manager, him and Durrant as well, really good guys.
“I’m not so sure I was their signing though, it just didn’t quite click initially but I got there and I tried my hardest so that’s all they could expect from me.
“I went from Ange where it was all tactics and stuff and it was more about man-management there.
“When I came the season had already started so you had done a pre-season, worked on structures and stuff like that and it was just about managing players right, playing multiple games and keeping everyone fit and on the park so I didn’t mind that, I enjoyed it at times, it was a great bunch of guys.”
McKay would make his debut against Dundee United at Tannadice, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-0 win but even that didn't go all that smoothly
“I didn’t have a small jersey, they had a big large one for me which didn’t really fit, it swam on me,” he joked.
“I actually played against Dundee United twice but this time was away. I came in on the left and had a couple of good moves, no real end product but it was a good ten minutes I think."
The following week Rangers would host Celtic but despite making his debut the previous Saturday, McKay was omitted from the squad.
He wouldn’t get the opportunity to feature in an Old Firm encounter, something that still rankles with him to this day.
“I was devastated. I really wanted to play, at least be involved, off the bench or something like that so it kind of doesn’t feel the same that you’ve been a Rangers player if you haven’t played in an Old Firm.”
McKay would have to wait almost two months to make his next appearance, again it would come against Dundee United but this time at Ibrox.
“I enjoyed it, Ibrox is a quality stadium, walking out you can feel the history.
“I loved that there was always full crowds, expectation and the players really thrived off that.
“It’s great to see now with all the fans back as well, it must’ve been tough for them last year with not having fans there, there’s no atmosphere in games when it’s like that.”
After a further two appearances, McKay’s Rangers career was over before it had really begun.
READ MORE: Pedro Caixinha on what went wrong at Rangers, tactical periodisation and Kenny Miller
Valentines Day 2012 is a date forever ingrained in the memory of every Rangers supporter, the date the club was placed into administration.
Unsurprisingly McKay says he had no communication with former owner Craig Whyte and had no prior knowledge of the club being engulfed by financial problems.
“I didn’t know anything before I signed that’s for sure.
“The players didn’t really talk about it to be honest, you just read the papers and that but I didn’t hear any murmurs about it.
“It had been going for a couple of months I think by then. Once it actually happened, it was a shock.
“I knew I was probably leaving anyway so it was a difficult time.
“Surely they knew the position they were in before they signed me?
“They paid a transfer for me which they recouped some of. That was disappointing but in saying that once that administration happened they had to accept the bid that came in.
“They wanted me to go on loan in January but it didn’t feel right. I wanted to break in but obviously, I think it was February 14th, Valentines Day it was time to go.
“My deal was pretty much done straight away so I was out of there, I said goodbye to everyone at training the next day and I was out so I was frantically trying to pack up an apartment, sell a car and all those kinds of things, the joys of being a footballer.
“It’s tough. I know players move all the time but it’s hard when you sign a three-year deal and you head out after six/seven months so you have to try and figure that out pretty quickly.
“I didn’t have kids which is fortunate, I had my girlfriend who’s now my wife, we’ve got three kids now but yeah we packed up pretty quick and we were off to South Korea.”
Despite his brief stint in Glasgow, McKay still keeps a close eye on the goings-on down Edmiston Drive and says he would’ve loved to have played for Steven Gerrard’s side.
“They play a great brand of football, I’m all for it.
“I think with Rangers every player fits in and plays their position. You talk about Allan McGregor winning the player of the year last season but it really could’ve been a handful of players that were incredible all year so really impressed.
“The captain at right-back, James Tavernier is a really, really good player and I can’t believe they’ve kept a hold of him for this long especially with the number of goals he chimes in with as well but throughout the park, through midfield and up front they’re a very dangerous side and play really nice football.
“Stevie G’s done a really good job.
“Steven Davis is a really intelligent player. He’s very clever, can play one-two touch, dribble if there’s space, he’s incredible and I feel he’s improved his game even more coming into the end of his career.”
It's a role McKay would love to play now for the Light Blues.
“I thought when I was there, Ally maybe thought of myself more as a winger but I never have been and never will be a winger, I’m just not that fast so that midfield pivot role would’ve been awesome and Davis plays that role so well.”
McKay hasn’t been back in Scotland since departing so hastily nine-and-a-half years ago but says he’d jump at the chance to return to Ibrox again.
“I would love to go back, even more so now with Ange at Celtic with that Aussie connection there now as well, it would be pretty cool seeing the Old Firm.
Which brings us on to the small matter of tomorrow's showdown.
Postecoglu will experience the cauldron of noise for the first time and despite an upturn in results, McKay believes his former Socceroos and Brisbane Roar boss still has his work cut out.
“I still think he’s got work to do personnel-wise, it’s a big job.
“But you can see already he’s started to implement how he likes to play, tactically he’s very good, his man-management is very good.
“I can see some of the messaging the players are coming out with and what he’s coming out with that they’re starting to buy in and that’s showing with results.
“He’s all about the performance but generally if they get that right they’ll really string some results together so I haven’t been too surprised by his start, to be honest.
“It’s pretty exciting, we’ve got the Scottish games on here so I’ve been keeping tabs on it. I think more people are not looking at that rivalry, just looking at him. He brings that now, he’s the highest-profile manager we have and he deserves that opportunity.
“He did really well in Japan so I want him to do well, I just don’t want him to beat Rangers.”
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