Stirling Albion keeper Blair Currie expects to be the busiest man inside Ibrox on Friday night but the Scottish Cup tie cannot come quickly enough for the former Rangers youngster.
The 27-year-old came through the youth ranks at the Govan club when current Gers number one Allan McGregor was in his first spell at Rangers.
After a loan spell at Hamilton, Currie’s Light Blue dream was over when he moved to Accies in 2013 and he had spells at Annan Athletic and Clyde before joining the Binos in 2019.
Assessing the hopes of the League Two side against the Scottish champions, he told PA media: “I played against Rangers for Annan about six years ago in the League Cup when they had Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar but this Rangers team is miles better now so it will be a harder game.
“I will be the busiest man inside Ibrox, I think that is guaranteed but I can’t wait.
“It is a brilliant stadium and to play against Rangers when they are at their peak, under a new manager with good players – I can’t wait.
“When it was announced that we were playing Rangers in the cup I think there was 100 messages in the group chat in a minute. Everybody is really looking forward to it.”
After falling short in his bid to be number one at Ibrox, Currie hopes at last to be able to get McGregor’s jersey.
He said: “I was only 17 when I was there and Allan McGregor and Neil Alexander were the first team keepers then.
“Allan gets better with age doesn’t he? He is a good guy, a great goalkeeper and any advice you asked him for he was always there to help. Neil Alexander was the exact same, two really good goalkeepers and great guys.
“I hope Allan is in goals tomorrow, I hope to get his strip after the game.”
Currie, these days a painter and decorator, admits it was a culture shock to leave the Ibrox club.
He said: “I was at Rangers since I was seven or eight and I went on to be full-time for four years.
“The facilities, pitches, the meals you get, it is first class. If that’s what you have been brought up with, you don’t really know what the outside world is like. You get a bit of culture shock.
“I was on loan at Hamilton when I was 17 and playing in the Championship, I really enjoyed it.
“But when you go back to Rangers, the training ground is just different class.
“And when you leave it is like, ‘oh, I used to have all this at Rangers and now I don’t really have much’.
“But it was brilliant, I really enjoyed it. To play for them was brilliant and to sit on the bench a few times, I loved every minute of it.”
