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Daily Record
Sport
Andy McGilvray

Rangers signing was my proudest moment, says retired star David Templeton

David Templeton once scored a memorable goal for Hearts in a Europa League match against Liverpool at Anfield, but says signing for Rangers was his proudest moment.

The 32-year-old winger netted to Hearts the lead in the 2012 clash, but Luis Suarez levelled on the night to give Liverpool a 2-1 aggregate advantage and squeeze the Tynecastle side.

Shortly after that, Templeton got his dream move to Rangers, even though the Ibrox side were in the lower divisions of Scottish football at the time, following their punishment for getting into financial difficulties.

Templeton, who made 84 appearances and scored 26 times for Rangers, told the Sunday Mail : "My best moment was signing for Rangers.

“Obviously, it didn’t work out how I wanted it to, but to say I’ve played for Rangers is always good, that makes me proud.

Templeton celebrates his goal for Hearts at Liverpool (SNS Group)

“I’ve a lot of family and friends who are Rangers fans so I know how much it means to people.

“I can say I played for the club and scored at Ibrox. There are thousands of people who dream of doing that.

“Walking out for that first game at Ibrox, with 50,000 supporters singing my name ... people don’t get to say that too often.

“And no one can take that away from me.”

Templeton's injury problems are well-documented, resulting in him retiring last week, and that was what ultimately ended his time at Rangers.

He said: "I went to Rangers and hurt my ankle in my second game, which kept me out for 10 weeks. Again, bad timing.

“And when I did my knee at Rangers I was out for two years. My contract ran out so the timing was brutal again.

“That’s frustrating but it’s football, isn’t it?”

Templeton returned to Ibrox with Accies and scored in a famous 2-0 win in 2017 (SNS Group)

Prior to his Ibrox move, Templeton spent five years at Hearts, which was similarly hampered with injury problems, and that continued into his time at Hamilton.

He said: "I’m not someone who tends to look back – I prefer to try to look to the future.

“I had an alright career. But I know it could have gone better at times and injuries didn’t help.

“I reckon I’ve probably had about five-and-a-half years out just through injuries. It probably held me back from really fulfilling my potential, and I was unlucky with the timing of them.

"My first injury at Hearts was just after making my debut.

“On the second day of pre-season, I fractured my fifth metatarsal. That was bad timing and it set me back."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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