I was booed and written off under Michael Beale but it’s all turned around for me at Rangers now says Scott Wright

THE respective games were just 11 weeks apart.

But immeasurably different in terms of experience.

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Scott Wright was jeered by his own supporters after collecting a red card for Rangers against home-town team Aberdeen in September.

But last weekend those same fans were cheering him as he picked up a winner’s medal after helping his side to a Viaplay Cup final victory over the same opposition.

Attacker Wright admitted: “It was a difficult time for me.

“There had been talk before about me maybe leaving the club, but I ended up staying and trying to fight my way back into the team.

“The difference between the two Aberdeen games sums up the highs and lows of football. It can turn so quickly.

“You can’t get too high, and you can’t get too low.

“We’re just going to try and stay in the same spot in the middle ground and keep trying to move forward.

“At this club you have to work hard to get your chances.

“People will write you off but it’s up to you whether you choose to listen to that.

“I come in and work as hard as I can and I’m glad the manager here can see that.

“Hopefully I’ll be given a chance going forward.

“The turnabout since has been incredible.

“Back then I managed to get a start against Motherwell, then I came on against Aberdeen in that game in September and I obviously got sent off, which was so disappointing for me.

“But in football there are always highs and lows. If there’s a low coming then hopefully there’s another high afterwards, so you’ve just got to try and ride it out.

“We lost the manager. It’s never nice to see anyone lose their job but especially when I’d worked with Mick Beale for quite a few years.

“But at this club you can’t ever stop. You have to move on to the next game.”

In Wright’s case, that next game looked set to be in the Turkish Super Lig when he was given permission by former boss Beale in August to speak to Pendikspor.

But the move collapsed over what their coach Osman Ozkoylu at the time termed “costs”.

Wright added: “It’s mad the way things work out in football.

“I’d gone out to Turkiye and spoken to the club, but for a few different reasons it didn’t seem right for me personally to go.

“I was grateful to Michael for letting me speak to them but he wasn’t pushing me out the door, he said there was a place for me here.

“Football moves so fast and I was grateful to come back to such a massive club.

“Hindsight is a crazy thing in football, but I want to try and win medals here.”

Wright has made sub appearances in the wins against Aberdeen and St Johnstone in the past week, and is raring to go after missing six weeks with a muscle issue.

He said: “It was really frustrating because it came just at a point where I felt I was in a good place, as was the team.

“It was frustrating to miss so many games but it’s good we have so many fixtures around this time as it means there’s still a lot to play for.

“When I sat down with the physios and sports science team to get a picture of where I was looking to be, in my head the final at Hampden was where I always wanted to try to get fit for.

“We were pushing it but I’m so thankful that they were able to devise a plan that got me back in time.

“I’ll always be grateful to them for that.

“You don’t want to be in there too long, you don’t want to keep seeing the same physios.

“You try to get out as quick as you can but you just have to make sure you go about it the right way so that once you’re back, you’re back fit and not always breaking down. The aim is always to give the manager a problem picking a team because he has too many fit players.”

Boss Philippe Clement noted the reaction of sub John Souttar celebrating the Europa League win over Real Betis as an example of the attitude he wants to forge among players not involved in matches.

And Wright said: “The manager’s just been really clear with what he wants.

“Every player is going to be frustrated if they’re not playing but all of them in there park that during the game and want the best for the team.

“The manager mentioned it with John Souttar in Betis and that’s exactly what happened.

“You could say that for the rest of the squad too.

“Whether the boys are playing now, in a month’s time or even further down the line, you never know when you’re chance will come. There can be injuries or suspensions.

“We play so many games here so you always have to be ready to take a chance when it comes.”

Gers go to Fir Park this weekend on a 16-game unbeaten run for a Christmas Eve showdown against a Motherwell side who haven’t won in their last 14.

But Wright sounded out a warning to his on-form team-mates as he added: “Making sure we don’t get complacent is something the manager is very good on.

“You could see during the game in midweek he doesn’t want that at all, he wants us to be at it all the time.

“He said after the Betis game he didn’t want us getting such a good result in Europe then taking a poor performance into the game at the weekend.

“He batters that message home to us every day.”

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