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Rangers Academy graduate Fraser Aird is currently starring for Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC in Calgary but he will be forever grateful to the Light Blues for helping shape his professional career.
The right winger joined the club’s youth department as an enthusiastic 16-year-old in February 2011 and it was a dream come true as Fraser went on to feature in almost 90 games for his boyhood heroes.
Aird, who now operates as an attacking right back, was one of a number of Academy products who played their part during Rangers’ journey back to the top-flight and he has fond memories of playing for Ally McCoist’s side in the Third Division, League One and the Championship.
Fraser, who memorably scored against Allan McGregor when Canada played Scotland in a friendly at Easter Road in 2017, also played for Falkirk, Dunfermline, Dundee Utd, Queen of the South and Cove Rangers during his time in Scotland.
And he has enjoyed spells in his homeland with Vancouver Whitecaps. Valour FC, FC Edmonton and current club Cavalry FC in a more than worthy career.
In a wide-ranging interview as he showed his support for The Rangers Youth Development Company – who have donated more than £12 million to the Academy so far – Fraser reflects on his time in Glasgow and life after leaving the Light Blues.
The 30-year-old said: “Tommy Wilson was the Rangers reserve team coach and he knew my agent at the time when I was playing in Toronto and he got me over on trial.
“It went well and Rangers offered me a contract and I moved over after my 16th birthday and I was there for six and a half years.
“Walter Smith was the manager and it was great to be at the club.
“It was a great environment to be in and it was an incredible time in my life,
to sign my first professional contract with my boyhood heroes.
“There was no Canadian Premier League back then and I always wanted to try the professional route if I could.
“It meant having to leave home at 16 and my parents weren’t too keen at the time but I have Scottish parents and they had friends and family to look after me while I was at Rangers.
“It’s still obviously a big move for any 16-year-old to move 2,000 miles away from their home.
“The days were jam-packed days and I enjoyed getting into the professional environment. For the first few months I was in awe of everything and just trying to get into a routine.
“You miss your family and some days were tougher than others as you would miss birthdays and you weren’t able to just go around the corner and see them but they knew I was doing something I loved.
“I could always see them on FaceTime and they made an effort to try to come over at least once or twice a year.
“I was so focused and just relishing the fact that I got a professional contract and I was trying to make the most of it.
“Academy football can be quite a tough environment, especially at Rangers, because you just have to win.
“It’s drummed into you from the very first day. It’s all about winning. At the end of the day, it’s the Rangers mentality from the under-eights to the reserve team, to the first team, there’s no difference.
“The message was clear. Development is also very important but at the end of the day winning was the priority.
“It’s right through the club. It’s all about winning and that’s the standards at the football club.
“It was a difficult time for Rangers after Administration but a lot of the young players got the chance to play.
“Five or six of us were lucky enough to get fast-tracked. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t go into Administration.
“We still had very good academy products and I’m sure a few of us would still have played, maybe just not as much.
“We definitely got fast-tracked but we helped the club rebuild in the Third and Second Divisions.
“It was incredible to play, a dream come true.
“Making my debut at Ibrox as a 17-year-old. A million kids dream of doing that and I got to live it.
“I still get goosebumps thinking about it today, running out in front of that crowd and making my family proud.
“It’s a massive achievement playing professional football and making your debut for any club never mind the Glasgow Rangers.
“You can go and play 300 games in your career but you always remember your debut and I’m grateful to Ally McCoist for giving me it.
“It was an amazing feeling and I’m honoured to say I was part of the squads and the teams that got Rangers back to the top-flight where they belong.
“As I said, winning was important from a young age and it doesn’t matter what division you are in or what opponent you’re playing. It’s all about winning.
“Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t always as smooth as we really wanted it.
“You’re playing against 11 players and it was their cup final every single game and that’s what you’ve got to get used to at Rangers.
“Everyone rises to the occasion when you play against the bigger clubs and it’s their cup final so you need a massive energy and you need to match their enthusiasm.
“We were selling out Ibrox and there were so many fans at away games. It just shows you the size of the club and support Rangers have.
“It’s like no other club and it was amazing playing in front of some amazing crowds.
“The Rangers fans wanted to show their support for the club and coming out in the Third Division playing in front of 50 odd thousand at Ibrox was surreal.
“I have so many good memories. As a kid, you dream of scoring your first professional goal and I got the winner against Queen’s Park at Hampden in injury time.
“I think it was a historical day because Rangers had over 30,000 fans at an away match.
“It was crazy to do it in that fashion. To get the three points was obviously the most important thing for us but I came off the bench and scored the winner.
“It was an amazing moment and I scored again on the last day of the season at Ibrox when we got the trophy.
“It was the perfect end to the season. Lifting trophies is the most important thing at Rangers and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against.
“The objective going into the start of each season was to get out of the division.
“So it was great lifting the trophy in front of my friends and family, my first silverware as a professional. That was pretty cool and it was a diving header for the game winner, which I don’t score many of!
“A lot of players had come through the academy at the same time so we were all pretty close and it was a good time to be at the club for all the young boys.
“I’d say we had a good mixture of young boys and a few players with a lot of experience. It was great to see that as we came through at the same time.
“We still had players like Lee McCulloch, Lee Wallace and Neil Alexander and they were instrumental in our success for sure.
“They stuck by the club and it would have been a lot tougher if it was just young boys.
“We needed to lean on these boys and picked up good habits from them.
“We learned how to be professional footballers. We were going on the road and winning games and it was great to have leadership around the place.
“They told us how to live our lives on and off the park. We took these little things into our own careers to make us a little bit better so when you showed up for games at the weekend you could give your best.
“The next season I felt a lot more part of the squad. I felt like I was getting used to being a Rangers player – having high standards, knowing what you had to do to wear that jersey, you know what I mean?
“Sometimes as a young boy, you get caught in the headlights a little bit and try to do maybe too much.
“But once I got into the team, keeping those standards up, contributing, goals, assists and just being a good teammate, to be honest.
“I think that’s where I kind of got more comfortable and was able to play more and have more of an impact on the team.
“It was great being a Rangers fan to play.
“I go back to Ibrox now and I still get recognised, and all the older guys always had nice things to say to me.
“There was a time where they went from watching Rangers play in Europe in 2008, playing in finals and lifting trophies and then having to go away to Annan and all the smaller clubs.
“It’s something the fans never thought they would have to see, but they did it and we packed out stadiums. We had to go and do the job at hand and we had to get the club back to where they were.
“We suffered for a few years but we created some amazing memories and at the end of the day, we did what was asked of us.
“We had to go back up the leagues and I’m proud to have played a part in Rangers history.
“It is hard to leave a club like Rangers but at the end of the day you need to make a decision for your own career. I went out on loan, one season to Vancouver Whitecaps in 2016, then came back and Mark Warburton was in charge at the time.
“We just had those difficult conversations and leaving your boyhood club is obviously very difficult.
“I still had six months left in my contract and at that time, I was getting call ups with the Canadian national team but I wanted to play more.
“I was 21 at the time and I just wanted to play regular football. If that meant taking a step down and leaving such a big club, then that’s what I was willing to sacrifice because I wanted to play games.
“Looking back, I wish I played a little bit more. I wish I got to 100 games. I did have a few injuries and the team was doing well so sometimes you find yourself out the team.
“I guess that’s part of football but at the end of day, I think I played 86 times for Rangers.
“That’s 86 more times than I thought I would have when I was a young boy dreaming of it so I am forever grateful for that.
“I wish I was there when I was a little bit older, knew a little bit more and was a bit more experienced. I would have handled the ups and downs of being in and out of the team better.
“But I have no regrets. I played 86 times for my boyhood club and I’ve made friends for life through Rangers.
“14 years later I’m still playing at Cavalry FC and that’s not too bad. I played at a few other clubs in Scotland and you’re always known as the ex-Rangers player.
“I enjoyed my time though and I’m grateful for the experiences I had as they’ve made me into the player I am today.
“The Canadian league started in 2019 and a lot of my friends that I grew up with were in the league. I knew a few of the coaches too and I just wanted to change after 10 years in Scotland.
“I wanted to move back home and be a little bit closer to family.
“I came back in 2020 and two weeks later COVID hit so I only played a few games for Valour FC then I ended up signing for FC Edmonton the year after.
“I moved to Cavalry FC in 2022 and the next year we won the regular season by 13 points.
“That was a massive achievement for the club and then in 2024 we won the playoffs, beating Forge in the final.
“So that was another bit of silverware. The club had never won in the playoffs before so that was a massive achievement.
“It never gets old lifting trophies as a player and we were so close to doing it again recently when we lost 2-1 to Atletico Ottawa in the play-off final.”
Fraser’s career development was assisted by annual RYDC donations to the Rangers Academy and more than £12 million has already been provided.
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