Ross McCrorie was quick to bat away suggestions of a Rangers reunion with his old pal Lewis Ferguson. But the returning defender wasn't as shy to share his excitement about teaming up with Derek McInnes again.
McCrorie's Return to Rangers
McCrorie is back where it all began after sealing a £1.5million move from Bristol City. While talks were started while Danny Rohl was still at the helm, the 28-year-old insists it was the arrival of his old Aberdeen boss that convinced him to make the move.
Speculation has been rife that he could be joined by another Aberdeen alumnus in Ferguson, but McCrorie refused to be dragged into that one – even though he admits he's good pals with the Scotland star.
When asked if he'd like to team up with Ferguson in light blue this season, McCrorie said: "I need to be respectful to Bologna. He's a Bologna player, he's their captain. I'm really good friends with him, but that's not for me to answer."
Reunion with Derek McInnes
Ferguson or no Ferguson, though, McCrorie is confident they have the right man at the helm in McInnes. He spent three years working under him previously, joining Aberdeen on loan in 2020 before making the move permanent a year later. It was a successful team-up – and one he's happy to have rekindled at Ibrox.
McCrorie added: "The big thing for me coming back here was the gaffer. I had a good few offers back in England but as soon as the gaffer got the job here, I knew he was the man to take the club forward.
"He was the one who gave me the belief to step up and leave Rangers (in 2021). To be honest, I wanted to leave in the first place. I was being selfish at the time, I wanted to go and better myself as a player. I wanted to be the main man somewhere, get games under my belt and unlock the talent I knew I had.
"The gaffer came to my house in East Kilbride at the time and persuaded me to go up to Aberdeen. I had a great three years up there. He took me under his wing. I was obviously a young boy at the time and I'm a lot different now to what I was back then. Five or six years on, I'm back here with him again."
