Gareth McAuley got his first real taste of Rangers action last week, coming on as a substitute against Spartak Moscow and starting against Motherwell.
Injury has held the 38 year old Northern Irishman back so far but Steven Gerrard clearly sees him as more than a bit part player.
There are also high hopes he can be the answer to our defensive organisational woes. It’s his experience and ability which make his role in this team an attractive prospect.
If he can help bring better structure to an at time panicky defence, then he’ll be filling the boots of a Rangers legend. Clint Hill aside, it’s a pair of boots we’ve struggled to fill since he left.
Davie Weir’s.
Weir joined Rangers at 36, McAuley joins at 38. Weir would go on to spend five seasons at the club, captaining the side, reaching a UEFA Cup Final and winning eight trophies. Weir was also placed into the Rangers Hall of Fame whilst playing for the club.
He made 231 appearances for the club and rolled back the years every time he pulled on a Rangers shirt.
Weir also returned as assistant during Mark Warburton’s tumultuous tenure.
Can McAuley play a big role this year and beyond?
The former West Brom centre back has already spoken about how eager he is to get back into the side and impress. McAuley’s mentor this week said that had McAuley been in the side, the Moscow mistakes would never have happened.
Gareth McAuley might have around 18 months on Weir from the moment he joined, but that won’t hold him back. McAuley is here to win things and like Weir, is a boyhood Rangers man.
The Northern Irishman has plenty left in the tank yet. He’s tenacious, determined, and according to the man himself, as fit as ever.
If he can get going we might yet see him beyond May next year. He’ll be 39 by then. Not that age ever mattered to Davie Weir.
And not that it’ll matter to Gareth McAuley.
