Is Rangers’ fan ‘feud’ with former chief now over?

Few would argue the departures of Mark Warburton and David Weir were more than a touch ignominious. After weeks of claiming they weren’t interested in a job at the City Ground in Nottingham, not only did they then switch there after their exits from Govan, but they brought old pal Frank McParland in too.

It was all a bit seedy and the headlines were ugly. We admit the two have sadly remained a little toxic to Rangers fans and the club ever since, which is not the relationship you want with an ex manager, even when it didn’t go well. For example, despite Paul Le Guen’s disastrous time at the helm, the fact he resigned but waived a payoff to save Rangers money showed the kind of man he was and he showed the club and fans real respect in doing that. So we had no axe to grind with the ex-Lyon chief.

Warburton, and Weir, however, was different. Following the claims of their talks, and their absolute denials, they packed their bags and did exactly what they’d claimed they weren’t, and in Weir’s case, desperately staining his excellent relationship with supporters, cultivated during his playing days at the club.

So, yes, there is some history there – which is why new signing Joe Worrall’s testimony yesterday is so important.

Rangers’ on-loan Forest defender has confirmed most of the reason he came to Rangers is the fact Warburton and Weir completely sold him on the switch, that they bigged the club up and completely encouraged him to come to Ibrox.

This kind of willingness to not only bury hatchets but promote Rangers does say a lot more of the former bosses than had been clear previously, and while it doesn’t ‘erase’ the foolishness of their action back then, it points to no hard feelings and their willingness to help out their old club when we desperately needed defensive talent.

Worrall, speaking to the Herald, said:

“I spoke to Mark and Davie who had me at Forest. They said great things about Rangers, especially Davie who has a special connection with the club. Everything he said is true. It’s just a massive club with great facilities. Playing at Ibrox in front of those fans is something I can’t wait for. Davie and Mark are very different but they complement each other well. Mark is technical manager, where Davie was obviously a top defender. But they brought my game on an awful lot as a young lad. They kept me grounded. They taught me to receive the ball from the back and not take liberties. That has stood me in good stead. Davie didn’t need to tell me about the football up here. I just asked him about the club as a whole. I know about Scottish football and what to expect. I’ve watched plenty of Old Firm games growing up. Rangers have been down the leagues for a few seasons but now that we’re back up here, it’s about time we were challenging at the top.”

Warburton hasn’t had a job in management since – like for SPL Rangers, he deeply struggled at Championship Forest and once sacked, has been doing the rounds mostly on radio. But, we admit, he has only said good things about Rangers and our fans despite the ignominy of his exit.

And now that he’s even helping get us players with absolutely no reason to do so, any ‘grudge’ Rangers fans ever might have had with he and Weir should be completely done. It is done for us here at Ibrox Noise now, and while you should never forget the past, you should certainly move on from it.

And now we have.