DAILY RECORD 🔵 I was in Annan team that stunned Rangers on their last trip to Ibrox – it was best and worst day of my career
Annan head to Ibrox on Scottish Cup duty on Friday night and Chris Jardine, who spent two years as a YTS kid at his boyhood heroes, recalls the day he returned to send them crashing to a humiliating defeat in 2013.
Rangers were outfought and outplayed at Ibrox(Image: Rob Casey/SNS Group)
As a YTS kid at Rangers Chris Jardine’s job was to look after the first team training kit right down to the undies as Walter Smith’s men marched to 9-in-a-row.
Sixteen years later the diehard Gers fan was part of the Annan Athletic side that pulled his heroes’ pants down at Ibrox. Jardine admits that third division shock in March 2013 was one of his best days in football – and also one of the worst.
He’d been steeped in the Rangers traditions by legends including Paul Gascoigne, Ian Durrant and Ally McCoist. Now here he was helping deliver a humiliation to his beloved club, who were already reeling from financial implosion, and manager McCoist.
Next Friday Annan make their first journey to Ibrox since that never to be forgotten afternoon where goals from Ally Love and David Hopkirk sealed three sensational points. Jardine – who made over 450 appearances for the Galabank club after his Gers dream ended in 1997 – plans to be among pals in the away end for the Scottish Cup fourth round clash.
But the 47-year-old will be keeping everything crossed that there’s NOT another seismic shock. Casting his mind back, the former midfielder recalled the bittersweet feeling leaving Ibrox that evening and how another of his mentors – the late Gers kitman Jimmy Bell – sought him out to ensure he left with a momento of his greatest ever result.
Jardine told Mail Sport: “That was one of the best days I’ve ever had in football but one of the worst as well. I was there as an Annan player wanting to do my best, which we did and ended up winning 2-1.
“But as a Rangers supporter I was like, ‘what has happened to my club?’ As a fan it was a really strange feeling. I had loads of family and friends there – in the Rangers end, they weren’t there supporting Annan!
“I remember Ally McCoist shook everybody’s hand afterwards. But the one person that spoke to me was Jimmy Bell.
“I was desperate for a strip but I was a bit scared to ask because Rangers had just been beaten by Annan and we all know how big a Rangers man Jimmy was.
“But he actually came to the dressing room after that and gave me the number four top. That was a really nice touch because he knew what it meant to me.”
Bell had been as much of a boss to Jardine as Walter Smith or reserve manager John McGregor in those YTS days where the young Ger was entrusted with making sure McCoist and co had their training kit just as they liked it.
He said: “There was no academy or training centre back then, we were in at Ibrox every day.
“You had such big name players, Gascoigne, Laudrup and the best Scottish boys like McCoist, Durrant, Goram, Gough.
“I don’t think I could have picked a better time to be there.
“My job was first team kit boy. I had to make sure the players had all their kit ready, everything from underwear to trackie tops and jackets.
“It was a stressful job, no kidding.
“I remember panicking one morning because Richard Gough, regardless of the weather, used to always want a waterproof jacket.
“But could I find it this morning? No. Everyone had their numbers at the time and I could not find Gough’s number five waterproof jacket.
“It was one of the most stressful mornings I’d ever had!
“Eventually, I just gave him number 55 and I was dead apologetic. I survived to tell the tale. It didn’t do him any harm did it?!
“That team was full of characters. It was snowing one year and Gazza asked three of us YTS lads to go and help him clear his drive of snow.
“He said he would give us 20 quid each. We were thinking ‘oh this is decent.. £20 to clear a drive of snow. How hard can it be?’
“Well I swear to God, when we got there, this driveway was about a mile long!
“We were there for hours for £20! Gazza was great with the young lads though, so generous.
“It was just a surreal time for me, a dream come true even though I never got to play a competitive game for the first team. It was just a brilliant period.”
Jardine joined Annan a year after leaving Rangers following stints with Morton and Gretna.
He spent 16 years in total with the Galabank side, winning East of Scotland League titles and then enjoying the journey into the SPFL where he made 146 appearances.
And none bigger than that seismic shock at Ibrox.
But what chance of history repeating itself when Willie Gibson’s underdogs rock up in Govan on Friday night?
Jardine said: “I’m going to go to the game. I’m hopefully going to take my boys Baxter and Mackay up.
“I’m going to sit in the Annan end, not going to have any colours on, and be among people that I know and that I’ve got a lot of time for.
“Listen, I’m wanting Rangers to win but hopefully Annan perform well. Put on a good show – but without a massive upset because this would be bigger than the result we got.
“Annan are doing well under Willie but Rangers are a different team now to the one we beat in 2013.”