Jon Daly insists Hearts fans are wrong to brand John Souttar a traitor over his move to Rangers.
A section of the Gorgie faithful have hit out at the 25-year-old after he penned a pre-contract at Ibrox and he was slammed on the Hotline.
Some are unhappy at Souttar leaving Tynecastle on a free after the club helped nurse him back to fitness following serious Achilles injuries.
But former Rangers striker Daly, who played with Souttar when he broke through at Dundee United and coached him at Tynecastle, says the Scotland stopper is right to look after number one.
Speaking exclusively on the latest Record Rangers podcast, the Irishman said: “The loyalty issue is a bugbear of mine.
“It’s a short career for footballers and those injuries could have been the end of John Souttar’s career.
“He has worked extremely hard to get back. Yes the club stood by him but why did they stand by him?
“It’s because he is a fantastic player and if he wasn’t as good as he was then he wouldn’t have been offered another contract.
“It works both ways. The club were loyal to John because they saw he was an asset going forward and saw that getting him fit they could probably make money off the back of him.
“There are plenty of players who get serious injuries who don’t get looked after. Nobody ever calls the club out for not being loyal.
“So I think you have to look at it both ways. John has been loyal by staying when he did. If he hadn’t had the injuries Hearts would have cashed in on him a long time ago.
“So yeah, you have to give credit to Hearts for sticking by him but I think they have done it because he is a top player.”
Daly, back in Ireland working at St Patrick’s Athletic after a stint in Finland alongside Jonatan Johansson, believes the £500,000 fee Hearts are reportedly demanding to make the move now is high.
He said: “It’s a lot of money to pay for someone who is out of contract in a few months’ time.
“Rangers have done really well to get John tied down on a pre-contract because there was a lot of interest in him.
“Like any football player that signs a pre-contract it’s your job and he is contracted to Hearts till the end of the season.
“He is a good character, a good person and he is going to give everything he can for Hearts.
“He is going to go to Ibrox and do his best. It’s a difficult situation and there’s no getting away from that.
“But he is someone who will get the head down and get on with it.”
Daly discusses Souttar’s emergence as a kid at Tannadice, what he expects from him at Ibrox as well as reflecting on his own career at Rangers in the podcast which will be available HERE in full on Monday.
