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Many footballers choose a career in coaching or the media when they finally hang up their boots, Rangers Academy graduate Kane Hemmings has other ideas and has set his sights firmly on working as a Club Director or Executive in the future.
The former Light Blues striker, now 33, currently features for English League Two side Barrow and wants to play for as long as possible, but he already has an eye on life beyond the pitch and has gained a Master’s Degree in Sporting Directorship from the University of East London in preparation.
Kane joined Rangers when he was 15 and went on to enjoy a successful career with Cowdenbeath, Barnsley, Dundee, Oxford, Mansfield, Notts County, Burton, Tranmere, Stevenage and Crewe before joining Barrow in the summer.
Despite suffering with injuries during his time in Glasgow – he endured 5 knee operations and rehabilitations before he was 21 – Hemmings was extremely proud to learn from top coaches at the Rangers Academy and play for the first-team under Ally McCoist in the top-flight and during the first post-Administration season in Division 3.
Ally handed Kane his competitive debut in a Champions League qualifier against Malmo in Sweden in 2011 and he had been in and around the squad when legendary manager Walter Smith was in the dugout.
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 – Kane reflects on his spell in Glasgow, his time as a prolific frontman north and south of the border and looks ahead to future career challenges.
He said: “I might do my coaching badges in the future but I’m more interested in the other side of the game and I have completed a Master’s Degree in Sporting Directorship.
“I would much prefer to go down that route and get involved with the day-to-day running of a club rather than taking the coaching route.
“I’ve dabbled in a little bit of coaching but I think you really need to have a passion for it or you are not helping anyone.
“I’ve gained a lot of experience throughout my career and I still enjoy playing.
“I’ve played for Rangers, Cowdenbeath, Barnsley, Dundee, Oxford, Mansfield, Notts County, Burton, Tranmere, Stevenage, Crewe and
I moved to Barrow in the summer.
“So I’m definitely proud of my career and hopefully I have a few more years left in me and then I can go out on my own terms.
“I was a free agent in the summer before I joined Barrow and I just want to keep playing as many games as possible and contribute.
“There is nothing better than putting the ball in the back of the net so hopefully I can score a few goals here.
“When I look back on my time at Rangers I knew they were a massive football club but I didn’t really know what I was walking in to.
“I was playing for Birmingham County and Tamworth and Ian Wilson, who is related to ex-Academy coach Tommy Wilson, put on a game in my local area so I played in that then came up to Glasgow to train and joined from there.
“When you go from Tamworth to Ibrox it blows your mind a little bit.
“I was a bit naïve to it all but I was just excited.
“I was buzzing and ready to go for it.
“Billy Kirkwood, Jim Sinclair and Tommy were at the club and were great to work with. Kirky used to live in the flat above me and one of the other boys so you couldn’t get away with anything!
“Any time we walked out he used to say, ‘Where are you going?’ – it was funny.
“Walter Smith was back at the club and Rangers were really successful. It was just the norm and really good to be about.
“That’s what the club is about and you were winning trophies. That was the message game in, game out.
“It’s a big expectation and you had to win at all costs.
“I made my first-team debut against Malmo in the Champions League during Ally McCoist’s first season as manager.
“It was a surreal experience. To come on in a game of that magnitude was brilliant.
“To say I played in a big European tie for Rangers is brilliant.
“It was fantastic and it was great to be in and about the first-team at that time.
“Even the season before when we won the league under Walter Smith, I had been on the bench a few times and it was a great experience.
“I was only a young boy and it was a fantastic experience.
“Good memories to look back on and it was great just to be involved.
“It was a strange situation before and after Administration. It was still Rangers and we were still going out there to win every single time.
“A lot of big players were at the club during that last season in the top league and 50,000 fans still expected results.
“Under Walter, Ally, Durranty and Kenny McDowall you were always expected to win.
“It was a strange time and unfortunately I picked up a lot of injuries when I was there.
“I had five knee operations before I was 21 and I remember having an op done in London at the end of the Administration season.
“On the second day of pre-season for 2012/13 I did my other knee in and was out for another 5 or 6 months.
“When I came back I went on loan to Cowdenbeath then I came back to Rangers and managed to get a few games.
“The club was in a bad position but I looked at it as an opportunity to play, get more games and try to impress.
“Injuries cost me and it was taken away from me a little. I was always trying to get up to speed and get fit.
“It was a tough time but I still remember scoring at Hampden against Queen’s Park.
“About two weeks before I had lost my granddad and the gaffer gave me some time off.
“Ironically I played and scored then had to come off injured about 10 minutes later.
“I felt like I couldn’t catch a break but it was still brilliant to score my first goal for Rangers.
“I was proper made up.
“I would have been happy to stay at Rangers and at the time I was gutted to leave but looking back it was probably the best thing I could have done.
“My body wasn’t in a good place at that time to be honest and actually going part-time with Cowdenbeath was probably the best thing for me.
“I was training on Tuesdays and Thursdays and playing games at the weekend and ended up getting a good move to Barnsley on the back of that.
“I remember speaking to Coisty on the phone when I was leaving and he told me to go on and have a fantastic career as I needed to play games.
“You don’t understand that at the time but he was definitely right.
“I found it difficult to get a club when I left Rangers initially. I went on trial to teams in England and one in the SPL and they all said no.
“I went to Cowdenbeath but that might not have happened if I hadn’t gone there on loan and scored a few goals the season before.
“The best thing you can do is just go and play games and I say that to the young boys now.
“Don’t hang around too long and just sit on the bench, go and play games and make a career on the back of your own achievements.
“I didn’t really start playing regularly until I was 21 or 22 and I have scored quite a few goals since. I’ve missed chances too but that is just the life of a striker.
“I look back and think I have done alright though, considering I had five knee operations before I was 21.
“I played week in, week out when I was at Dundee and I have scored a fair few goals. There are things I could have done better but that’s just nitpicking.
“I got the chance to play for Rangers and a lot of young players also had the chance to play games.
“To be honest, I think we were better than some of the players that were signed at the time but football is a business and these players were always going to play.
“I would say there was definitely value in a lot of the young boys who played though – guys like Rhys McCabe, Barrie McKay, Lewis Macleod and Kal Naismith who went on to have a great career and was best man at my wedding.
“There were still a lot of experienced players who helped us at that time too. Lee McCulloch was brilliant with us all.
“I remember having a few conversations with him about my game when I went on loan at Cowdenbeath and he always had time for you.
“Lee Wallace as well. They all had time for you and all wanted to help you out.
“David Weir was brilliant with me, Kirk Broadfoot too. We were injured at the same time and he used to push me every day.
“Top, top people to learn from.
“James Beattie, a former England international who played in the English Premier League, didn’t have the best of times at Rangers but he was still helpful and used to give me boots and was superb with his time.
“I try to do similar now with any young players. It doesn’t cost you anything to be nice does it?
“The impression you leave on people is the most important thing so that’s how I want to go about my business.
“I still look out for the Rangers results and I try and watch them when they are on the TV.
“I try and keep on top of what is going on and I was very proud to have played for the club.”
Kane’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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