Jimmy Nicholl: ‘I believe you can only get out of football what you put into it and I certainly made the most of those three great years at Ibrox’

Canadian-born Jimmy, of an Ulster father and mother who was born in Greenock, Scotland, grew up in Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey outside Belfast, where the three clubs he supported were Rangers, Manchester United and Linfield.

With that grounding, aside from his Old Trafford loyalties, he will always be regarded as a ‘Bluenose’. Indeed, Jimmy, now in his early-sixties, looks back with pride at his times with Glasgow Rangers, and he also has fond memories of his spell as a full-back with Manchester United and reaching two World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986 with Northern Ireland in Spain and Mexico.

The journey to Ibrox Park in 1983 for Jimmy came via Manchester United (he played in 197 senior games there between 1974 and 1982), Sunderland, and Toronto Blizzard in Canada. It was Rangers legend John Greig who signed Jimmy, but the link was short-lived when John’s managerial position ended and Jock Wallace was appointed as his successor.

Wallace, Jimmy recalls, was a strict disciplinarian whose managerial code included how Rangers players conducted themselves, that they were properly dressed, were clean-cut with no beards, and how dignified they were when seen in public, away from their football. commitments. Of, course, most important Wallace wanted a successful Rangers.

“Jock imbued on all those around him the highest standards expected at a club the size of Glasgow Rangers; and having been at Manchester United as a first teamer for most of a decade, it was another awesome experience for me, but enjoyable especially as I won a Scottish League Cup winners’ medal in that first spell at Ibrox,” says Jimmy.

“The 1983-84 arrangement was that I would play for six months with Toronto Blizzard in the summer and six months for Rangers in the winter. At that time, Dundee United (under Jim McLean) and Aberdeen (under Alex Ferguson) were dominating things in Scottish football, with Rangers and even Celtic going through a lean period. However, I had the chance to play for a club I loved as I supported Manchester United, Rangers, Linfield and Northern Ireland; that was all I was interested in.

“Winning the League Cup in 1984 was one of my best moments at Rangers. We beat Celtic 3-2 in the final with Ally McCoist getting a hat-trick. I was so relieved to be a part of a Rangers team that won a trophy and that I had a medal to show from my initial six-month stay at the club. It was a great day for the team, the fans, and big Jock, in particular,” said Jimmy.

“The League Cup final victory over Celtic was one of my best ‘Old Firm’ memories as was my final game from my first spell at the club. Celtic came to Ibrox in April, 1984 and we won 1-0 with Bobby Williamson getting the only goal with an overhead kick. Jock Wallace, knowing it was my final game, gave me the captain’s armband on that occasion which filled me with so much pride. Unfortunately I was sent off in the 55th minute so I think he probably regretted doing that.

“After the game big Jock came up to me and said: ‘Nicholl, you are going back to North America on Monday, but if we hadn’t won that game you wouldn’t have needed a plane as I would have booted your backside so hard you would have landed in Toronto’. It was a great way to end my first stint at Ibrox and when I got the opportunity to come back for a second time, in 1986, the club was totally different.

“Word about a return to Rangers came as I was returning from the World Cup finals in Mexico. Graeme Souness, with Walter Smith as his assistant, had just taken over as Rangers manager and I was at West Bromwich Albion under Ron Saunders. As it turned out, I was Graeme’s third signing for the 1986-87 season - behind big Terry Butcher, the then England captain, and the England goalkeeper Chris Woods.

“I was then 30 and in the three years I was at Ibrox, on my second spell, we won the Scottish League title twice (1986-87 and 1988-89) and the League Cup (1986-87 and 1987-88). Those were great times; remember I had won an FA Cup winners’ medal with Manchester United in 1976-77. Ibrox was back to a full 50,000 capacity for home games and under Graeme, backed by his astute No 2 Walter Smith, we again became the main force in Scotland and a big presence in Europe,” said Jimmy, who later, as manager of little Raith Rovers, guided the Kirkcaldy club to an historic highly memorable Scottish League Cup triumph over Celtic in 1994-95.

“I believe you can only get out of football what you put into it and I certainly made the most of those three great years at Ibrox. With players like Terry Butcher, Chris Woods, Mark Walters, Graham Roberts, Trevor Francis, Robert Fleck, Ally McCoist, Gary Stevens, Ian Ferguson, Ian Durrant, Davie Cooper, who I also played with in my first spell at Ibrox, and, indeed, the late Ray Wilkins and Richard Gough, we had a mighty squad over that period.”.

Jimmy became a close pal of the late Davie Cooper, Rangers and Scotland’s mercurial winger. “Davie was a brilliant lad, with unbelievable football skills. We were big mates on and off the field and his untimely death at the age of 39 was a huge blow to us all”.

As a right-back, Jimmy came up against many great wingers, with the best he faced Willie Johnston, of Scotland, Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. “Willie, who was a legend at Ibrox, had some ding-dong battles with me when I was at Manchester United and he was at West Brom..

“Willie was quick so if you showed him down the line he would beat you for pace and could whip crosses in with his left foot. If you showed him inside he would either shoot with his right foot or deliver a cross. Willie was a cracking player.”

‘Old Firm’ games were always really big occasions for Jimmy. “In an ‘Old Firm’ games you savour the atmosphere from start to finish. There is nothing like it in football; it’s unique. When I played for Manchester United against Manchester City in derbies the atmosphere was huge, but nothing to the level of a Glasgow ‘Old Firm’ game,” said Jimmy.

“There are two questions you have to ask yourself if you want to play in games like this and get the best from them. Can you handle being booed by 50,000 people? Will you enjoy being cheered by 50,000 people? You better believe it,” Jimmy added. “Being from Northern Ireland, I was aware since I was boy of how much these games mean to so many people. You know what is associated with the colours and traditions of both sides.”

Jimmy Nicholl’s third stint at Rangers was as assistant manager to Graeme Murty - appointed in January 2018. Club directors brought Jimmy back to the club, on the strength of his vast experience and, of course, his undoubted knowledge, love and respect for all things Rangers.

It was a difficult period at Ibrox, but Jimmy did his best to revitalise the team’s fortunes and when Graeme stood down with three League games remaining, he took over as caretaker manager. In the three remaining games, with Jimmy at the helm, Rangers were unbeaten, defeating Kilmarnock 1-0, drawing 1-1 with Aberdeen and drawing 5-5 with Hibernian Jimmy left the club on June 1 on the appointment of new manager Steven Gerrard.

Jimmy was assistant manager of Northern Ireland to Michael O’Neill since March 2015 and he played a key role in helping the team to the European finals in France in 2016. As a manager he has been at Raith Rovers (twice), Millwall, Cowdenbeath (twice) and Hibernian in a caretaker role.

However, Glasgow Rangers for Jimmy, who has long made Scotland his home residing at Stirling, has played a huge part in a distinguished playing and managerial career and his outstanding contribution over three periods has made him immensely popular with the fans at Ibrox Park, not only in Scotland, but in his beloved Northern Ireland homeland.

* Rangers Football Club - the Ulster Connection by Billy Kennedy (Published 2019). Available in Rangers superstores in Glasgow (St Enoch’s Square) and Belfast, and online from Amazon.