Scott McManus has sealed a move to Rangers that will make his famous uncle, Walter Smith, a proud man.
The 29-year-old is the nephew of the legendary Ibrox manager, but it’s a switch to Cambuslang Rangers and not the Govan giants that awaits him.
McManus will complete his move from Petershill Juniors next week when his contract expires and it’s a deal that will bring a smile to Walter’s face.
The striker said: “Cambuslang Rangers has always been local to me and I’ve got some family ties here as well.
“My grandad Jack Smith used to support them, so I’ve always been aware of them, I’ve just never had the opportunity to play with them in the past.
“He was Walter’s father and my uncle used to go over on a Saturday morning and watch Cambuslang Rangers back in the day when they had thousands there watching them.
“I spoke to my uncle about it and he’s happy that I’ve signed there.
“There’s that family element to it and I’m sure he’ll come along this season and watch a game or two.”
It might not be the ultimate Rangers move he has dreamed of, but McManus has had a taste of Ibrox before.
In 2014, he was part of Barry Ferguson’s Clyde side that took on Rangers in the Petrofac Cup second round.
An 8-1 hammering may have been a result to forget, but the experience wasn’t.
McManus added: “I’ve been lucky enough to play at Ibrox when I was at Clyde and that was one of my career goals.
“We took a bit of a hiding that day, but it was great to be able to play there.”
It might be some time before McManus pulls on a blue jersey for Cambuslang though.
The Covid-19 shutdown will keep teams in the lower leagues of Scottish football sidelined for a while longer.
Cambuslang are set to compete in the new West of Scotland Conference B next season and there’s no clear indication when they will play again.
“It’s quite challenging at the minute,” McManus admitted. "It’s individual training to keep ourselves ticking over and we are talking around July before we return to any sort of training activity.
“We just need to play it by ear.
“The club are doing a lot of good things to prepare for football coming back.
"When I went out to speak to the club, you could see the new bar area and they’ve improved the area itself, so that all points in the right direction.
"It’s a local club that has had good investment. They want to do good things this season, so hopefully we can.”
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