Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson has told that one of the reason he turned down the Rangers job in the 1980s was due to being approached by then chairman John Paton instead of Willie Waddell.
Waddell is a massive figure in the Gers’ history and played for the club between 1939 and 1955 before becoming their manager 14 years later for three years between 1969 and 1972.
After leaving his post as manager in 1972 he went on to serve as the club’s general manager, vice chairman and consultant before becoming a director of the Ibrox giants in 1981 until his death in 1992.
Now, Ferguson has told had Waddell approached him to take charge of Rangers he “may have been more attracted” to the role and history could have been rewritten.
“I may have been more attracted to the job had Willie Waddell approached me for it. But it wasn’t Willie Waddell, it was John Paton [then Rangers chairman] who spoke to me,” told Ferguson to the official Rangers website.
“So I spoke to Scot Symon and he asked if it was Waddell who had made the approach. On finding out it wasn’t, he said he would worry about that as Willie was still running the show.
“That was one of the reasons I felt uneasy about it, so I turned it down.
“I think I did the right thing going to England from Aberdeen.”
Rangers struggled in the 1980’s by their very high standards, winning just three Premiership titles alongside three third place finishes, three fourth placings and even dropping as low as fifth in 1986.
They then went on to excel in the 1990’s, winning a stunning nine league titles alongside a second placed finish in 1998.
Ferguson meanwhile made himself one of football’s greats after taking charge of Manchester United in 1986, winning 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League trophies across a 27-year period.