Glasgow, 07.11.2018, Ibrox Stadion, Fussball, Scottish Premiership, Glasgow Rangers Imago Images
The pull of Rangers Football Club is something Kevin Phillips knows better than most people might expect from the former England striker.
Phillips, a Sunderland legend, came close to making the move to Glasgow during his playing career before ultimately deciding to stay in the Premier League.
The former frontman helped fire Sunderland to promotion in 1999 before going on to score an incredible 70 goals over four seasons, earning a place in the club’s hall of fame.
When it came time to leave Wearside in 2003, then-Rangers boss Alex McLeish used Sunderland teammate Alex Rae to try to lure Phillips north of the border.
Phillips revealed that Rae helped put together a showreel to send to McLeish, but in the end the striker chose to continue his Premier League career rather than move to Glasgow.
He went on to make almost 150 further appearances in England’s top flight, turning out for Southampton, Aston Villa, Birmingham and Crystal Palace before retiring at the age of 41.
Dan Neil now finds himself at a similar crossroads, having chosen Rangers over a Premier League offer from newly promoted Coventry despite being the captain who led Sunderland out of an eight-year top-flight exile.
Neil’s hopes of featuring prominently in the Premier League were dashed when the £13 million signing of ex-Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka reduced him to just three appearances last season before a loan spell at Ipswich.
Phillips told Record Sport: “Every player who helps a team get promoted to the Premier League and then all of a sudden finds himself sitting on the bench and losing their place is going to feel hard done by.”
He added: “Xhaka came in and was an inspiration for Sunderland, he’s been outstanding so there’s no argument in terms of that.”
Phillips was clear that Neil handled the difficult situation with considerable maturity and professionalism throughout what was an undoubtedly frustrating period.
“I think Dan dealt with it in a very, very good way. The club were good to him. They sent him out on loan, and now they’ve let him go,” Phillips said.
“And he’s gone on to a magnificent football club up in Scotland, a big football club. So hopefully, he can re-kickstart his career again and have a fantastic season.”
On his own near-move to Glasgow, Phillips said: “I wouldn’t say I was close to going up there, but I had opportunities to go to Rangers and Celtic at points in my career.”
He explained his decision to stay south of the border plainly, saying: “The Old Firm would have been great games to play in, but I wanted to stay in the Premier League. And that was the only reason why I didn’t go up there.”
Phillips is convinced that Neil’s experience of playing in intense North East derbies between Sunderland and Newcastle will prepare him well for the unique atmosphere of Old Firm fixtures.
“I’ve been to a couple of Old Firm games over the years and the atmosphere is intense,” he said, adding that he believed it ranks among the biggest derbies in the world.
“I think he’ll relish it. He’s that type of player. He’ll take it on his shoulders, he’ll look forward to it. And if I were in his shoes, I’d be excited about playing in those games.”
New Ibrox manager Derek McInnes made signing Neil an immediate priority after taking charge last month, with the 24-year-old joining competition from Nico Raskin, Connor Barron, Mohamed Diomande and Tochi Chukwuani in midfield.
Phillips described Neil as a technically gifted box-to-box midfielder, saying: “He is more renowned for scoring goals and getting in the box,” and predicting his technical qualities will be his greatest contribution at Rangers.
About the Author
