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Rangers Academy graduate Andy Mitchell says playing for the Light Blues were the best days of his life and he is now using the many lessons he learned at Ibrox to make his way in the coaching world.
The Northern Irishman, now 33, is part of League of Ireland Premier League side Derry City’s first-team staff and he has come a long way in the game since he moved to Glasgow from Manchester City in 2010 as a teenager.
Andy’s incredible work ethic and desire to succeed earned him the chance to train and play for his boyhood heroes and he was proud to be part of the 2012/13 Third Division title squad during the most difficult time in the club’s history.
He went on to win NIFL Premiership titles with Crusaders and Linfield, where he also won the NI League Cup, and two County Antrim Shields with Larne – the club where he began his coaching journey as under-18s boss then academy chief.
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 club’s Academy to date – Andy was thrilled to reflect on his time with the club he loves.
Ally McCoist handed him a competitive debut against Dundee Utd at Tannadice in March 2012 but it was a chance training ground meeting with club legend Ian Durrant during Walter Smith’s second spell in the dugout that resulted in his first taste of training with the main squad.
Recalling that fateful day and subsequent football journey, Andy said: “I wasn’t playing much with the under-19s or Reserves and the Academy was actually off that day but I came in one Wednesday to do extra work.
“I was kicking balls about in the dome at the first-team side of the building and I remember Ian Durrant poking his head out of an office door and asking what I was doing.
“I was scared to say the wrong thing to him as he is a Rangers legend but I told him I was just in to do a bit of extra work.
“He then asked me if I wanted to train as the first-team needed a player and of course it was a 100% yes!
“He told me to go and get my boots and my legs were like jelly in that walk from the dome to the dressing room.
“I was shaking and was wanting to call my mum and dad back home to tell them at the same time.
“It was a massive thing for me and I was training with the big boys – players like Davie Weir, Steven Davis, Nikica Jelavic, Sasa Papac, Carlos Bocanegra, Lee Wallace, Lee McCulloch and Mo Edu.
“These are the players I was going to watch play every week and now I was training with them.
“I remember we had an 11 v 11 game – Walter Smith, Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant and Kenny McDowall are all watching and I was playing right wing.
“I won a penalty, it was only a training game but it felt like 50,000 people were watching me. I took it and I scored.
“It felt like a penalty in a stadium with a massive atmosphere to me.
“After that, any time they needed a player to train from the Academy I was picked.
“I was buzzing and was doing well when I was with them. It was all down to coming in that day to do extra training, seeing Durranty and being in the right place at the right time.
“I was used to training with the first-team so it helped me when I made my debut.
“Ally was the manager and it came against Dundee Utd at Tannadice.
“I was in and around the squad a lot but I was like the 20th or 21st man and would sit in the stand.
“After Administration in February 2012, we were still playing in the top division and Ally named his team for Dundee Utd the day before and I was shocked to be in it.
“I remember standing next to Darren Cole, Rhys McCabe and Kal Naismith and Kal nudged me when my name was called out.
“I just froze and I couldn’t wait to get my phone and call my mum and dad.
“The Academy boys were all buzzing for me. After lunch, Ally pulled me aside and told me not to tell anyone as he didn’t want the team getting out but I had already told half of Northern Ireland!
“I just said, ‘No Ally. 100% I won’t!’
“It was a proud day for me and my family.
“Walking in to the dressing room and seeing your top next to Steven Davis and others was surreal.
“I was just a kid living the dream and it came true against Dundee Utd.
“It was amazing and I played with so many good players. It was an amazing feeling and something I will never forget.
“What a proud moment. I knew I had a lot of work to do and we lost the game 2-1 but I had now played for the Rangers first-team.
“I remember I wanted to play a decent game so I was part of the Celtic squad a few weeks later. I was on the bench that day and didn’t come on but we won 3-2 and it was amazing to be part of.
“I learned from them all just how to be a Rangers player and the demands it took.
“The following season we started in the Third Division and only 13 players or so turned up for training on the first day but I was proud to be one of them.
“It was a tough time but a lot of Academy boys got their chance and we still had senior players like Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace around us.
“I remember Jimmy Bell telling me I had my own locker, wee things like that meant everything to me.
“It was a mad time looking back and horrible for the fans and the people who had worked for the club for a long time and were losing their jobs.
“There was a lot of uncertainty but the coaches were all great with us and Ally McCoist was fantastic to have around the place.
“We saw the other side to him if we lost games and he wasn’t happy but we were young kids who were now in the first-team.
“We were still playing in front of 50,000 fans at Ibrox. We were thrown into it and you had to handle it.
“It was a massive shock but we had to grab the chance with both hands.
“It was a dream come true to play for the club and it gave me the best moments of my life.
“I was at Manchester City from the age 13 and it was one of the best in the world at producing players at that time, that’s one of the reasons why I went there.
“Once they started getting a bit of money it diluted what they were trying to do and it wasn’t about bringing players through from the academy, they were buying players for big money and wanted instant success.
“I had a really good time there though, I worked with some really good coaches and played with a lot of good players.
“Many went on to have really good careers and some are still playing, like Kieran Trippier.
“I had a year left on my Man City contract and Jim Sinclair (former Rangers Academy Chief) watched me in a few youth international games.
“He had been tracking me and that’s how my move came about.
“It was a no-brainer for me to join as I’m obviously from a Rangers background.
“It’s a massive club and I was delighted to sign. My family were so proud.
“When I signed there was a lot of publicity in the media as I was moving from Man City to Rangers and that probably didn’t help me as I was still an Academy player when I signed.
“The perception was Rangers were signing this ‘Wonderkid’ from Man City but I wasn’t that at all.
“But it was a massive move for me, my family and my mates back home in Northern Ireland.
“When I joined my main coaches were Billy Kirkwood and Tommy Wilson.
“Really good guys and Billy was strict with us. He told us what it was all about to play for Rangers.
“We did a lot of running because you had to be fit and physically strong to play for the club.
“That was a really good upbringing. At Man City it may have been more technical, but Kirky was trying to create Rangers people I would say so it was totally different.
“Tommy had a different way about him and wasn’t as strict but I learned so much from them both.
“I struggled a lot when I first went there and didn’t actually play in a lot of youth games.
“I had really good competition about me. Guys like Darren Cole, Rhys McCabe and John Fleck who had already played for the first team.
“They were all Scottish youth internationals and I just couldn’t get in.
“I had to work even harder behind the scenes to do the extras and keep myself right mentally.
“I had come from Man City with a bit of media hype and that provided challenges.
“I had to learn to cope with that but there was no better club to be at than Rangers
“It can be difficult because if you are not good enough they just replace you. We were there to compete, progress and win and that is the nature of the beast.
“We had a few players from Northern Ireland at the club – Steven Davis, David Healy, Kyle Lafferty, Chris Hegarty, Andy Little, Joshua Robinson and Wayne Drummond.
“There was a good contingent of players from back home who all helped me settle and that was great.
“The senior players would always talk to us. They were our idols growing up they always gave us advice and spoke to us like normal people. That put us at ease.
“Andy Little was just breaking into the first-team and he knew what it took to make the transition from the Academy.
“He was one of us and we would go round to his house for dinner, to watch football and play pool.
“He made it easier for us all.
“When you were around Andy you could see how he handled himself around the fans in the street, we all respected that.
“People knew us around Milngavie as we were Academy players but Andy played in the first-team and then everyone knew him.
“He was a great example to us all so I was around really good people like him.
“Andy was the perfect person for me to learn from and I had so many great experiences during my time at the club.
“I’m coaching now but I still went on to have a relatively successful career in Scotland with Annan, in England with Southport and back home in Northern Ireland.
“Rangers is just a brilliant club and was even bigger for me because of the Northern Ireland connection.
“I never took it for granted, it was surreal and a dream come true. I had to pinch myself every day going in to training. I loved every minute of my time at Rangers and it will stay with me until the day I die.
“I have no regrets. What a journey and what a time I had there. I look back with really fond memories and I made a lot of friends for life there.
“When you get older you start thinking about coaching or managing and I love what I am doing now.
“I always wanted to stay in football so the next best thing to playing is to be on the sidelines coaching.
“When I came back home I played for Crusaders, Larne, Linfield and Carrick Rangers and started doing my coaching badges.
“I really enjoyed it and now I am a full-time coach at Derry City, which I love.
“I am still relatively young but I constantly want to learn and make my way in the coaching world.
“I started my own coaching company a few years ago and it was about going into schools and giving kids enjoyment of football.
“That gave me a grassroots coaching grounding and I learned how to put on sessions for kids of all ages.
“Larne offered me my first proper coaching role and I took over their under-18s, which I could relate to because of my time at Rangers
“The following year I was leading the whole academy and when manager Tiernan Lynch moved to Derry City he took me with him as a first-team coach.
“I want to help develop players and I really enjoy what I am doing.
“I’ve learned from so many coaches in my career starting with Brian Kidd at Man City’s academy.
“I’ve worked with Rangers legends like Walter Smith, Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant and a lot of good people in England and Northern Ireland and I’ve learned so much from them all.
“I had a really good upbringing as a young player too and this all helps me now in my coaching career.
“Playing for Rangers were the best days of my life.
“It was a pleasure to go in and train every day and walk in the front doors of Ibrox and walk up the Marble Staircase.
“I have no regrets about my playing career but I am now in the coaching world and I have a real bug for it.
“I want to try and coach at a really top level.
“I am grateful to have had a career in football and I don’t take it for granted.
“It is a privilege to work in this industry and I loved my time at Rangers and other clubs.”
Andy’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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