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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Who is Craig McPherson? Rangers coach in focus as Celtic boss headbutt dominates derby thriller takeaways

It was a thrilling night in the SWPL1 as Celtic and Rangers clashed in a crucial fixture at the top of the division - but the fixture would descend into chaos with some ugly scenes at full-time.

Celtic remained second in the league with a 99th-minute Caitlin Hayes equaliser, after forward Brogan Hay's first-half strike looked to be enough for Malky Thomson's side as the defending champions had looked to close the gap on leaders Glasgow City. However, the excitement on the pitch has not been the main talking point coming out of the derby showdown.

Images emerged following the full-time whistle which appeared to show Rangers assistant coach Craig McPherson headbutting Fran Alonso from behind as the Celtic boss shook hands with the players at the full-time whistle. The Hoops boss also claims he was called "a little rat" by McPherson as he walked off the pitch at Broadwood Stadium.

But who is McPherson? Record Sport takes a look at the man at the centre of the flashpoint.

Where did he play?

McPherson will be a familiar name to fans of Scottish lower league football, having been a mainstay at hometown club Morton during his six year stint at the club. The versatile midfielder would end his spell in Greenock in 2000 with a brief stint at Clyde, before making the switch to Airdrieonians.

(SNS Group)

He would then be snapped up by Falkirk and helped them to promotion to the top flight back in 2005. After one season in the SPL he would call time on his playing career and make the move into coaching.

Where has he coached?

McPherson would stick with Falkirk and move into the youth academy set-up and work his way through the set-up, eventually being named the head of youth for the Bairns back in 2009. His success behind the scenes would allow him to return to first-team coaching at Morton.

Jim Duffy named McPherson as his number two in 2014, where he spent four years at his former club. He would help Duffy lead the club back to the Championship, before working briefly under Ray McKinnon during his short spell in Greenock.

After leaving Morton he would spend two spells at Dumbarton. After a one-month stint under Stevie Aitken in September 2018 he followed the then-boss out the door. But Duffy would bring McPherson back to the Sons later that year.

So, how did he end up at Rangers?

In January 2021, McPherson opted to leave the Scottish League One side to work in the Rangers youth academy. After a six month spell in the academy, he would step into his current role with the women's team as the Ibrox club put extra investment into the SWPL1 side.

He would play an important role in helping Rangers dethrone Glasgow City. He helped them win the SWPL title in the 2021/22 season, bas the team of Thomson and McPherson have struggled to replicate that success this term. The draw with Celtic leaves the club nine points behind City and sitting in third in the table.

What next for the boss?

After the flashpoint, Rangers boss Thomson was playing his cards close to his chest. However, he did admit a review would take place with the potential for a club probe.

Following the full-time whistle, the Light Blue's boss said: "Without me seeing it I wouldn't comment. If that is the case there will be an investigation and we will look at it."

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