Home Sweet Home

Forsyth was a formidable full-back who had been part of the Partick Thistle side that had shocked Celtic in their famous 1971 League Cup final win before moving on to spend six seasons at Old Trafford.

Returning home to Scotland hadn’t really been in his thoughts until Ibrox came calling. Forsyth had grown up a Rangers fan in Swinton and then Baillieston where his next-door neighbour Torry Gillick, who had just retired from playing, would demonstrate the skills that had made him such a favourite at Ibrox before and after the war.

Forsyth’s whole family were Rangers supporters and he grew up in the 1960s being inspired by a whole number of talented stars.

“All my friends and family were Rangers fans and we got to Ibrox whenever we could,” he recalled. “When I was only a kiddie in Swinton we didn’t always have a ball so we would be out in the street playing kick the can. My mother told me later on that Torry Gillick would come out to join us and would be showing us different moves, how to kick a ball properly and things like that.

The emotional pull was strong, then, when recently-appointed manager John Greig sounded out the then 26-year-old Forsyth about a season-long loan spell at Ibrox.

The defender was quick to agree and went on to become a part of the squad that conquered Juventus and PSV Eindhoven on their way to reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

“The only club I would have come home for at that time was Rangers,” he added. “I was thinking about maybe moving abroad or staying in England and perhaps dropping down a league.

“But Rangers were a big draw for me and the chance to work for a legend like John Greig was too big to turn down. So I agreed to come back on a loan deal from United in the first instance.

“We had such a good squad around that time. Big Peter McCloy in goals, Tam Forsyth, Sandy Jardine, Colin Jackson, Derek Johnstone, Derek Parlane, Tommy McLean, Davie Cooper and Bobby Russell just to name a few.”

Forsyth would go on to sign a permanent deal in 1979 and would remain at Rangers for three more years.

Appearances in the first team became fleeting but he has no regrets about staying with his boyhood heroes for as long as he did.

“That was another fairly straightforward decision when they asked if I wanted to stay on,” he added. “I didn’t end up playing as much as I wanted as Greigy wanted to introduce some younger players to the group, guys like Ally Dawson.

Forsyth scored five goals in his first season as a Rangers player, all from the penalty spot. That two of them came against Celtic – one in the league, the other in a Glasgow Cup Final win – made them extra special.

He added: “The Old Firm games were always fantastic. The atmosphere was out of this world. You never felt tired in those games as the crowd was always willing you on to make that next tackle or get up the line. That encouragement lifted you up and put extra yards in your legs.

“There was no time for a breather in those games. You knew you had to win the 50-50 tackles, get the man, the ball, the whole lot!

He was a right-back that liked to get forward, although he jokes he wasn’t quite as adventurous as his modern-day successor, James Tavernier.

“You were expected to attack as well in that role, almost like an extra right midfielder,” he explained. “But in the modern game they can do that all day long.

Forsyth left Ibrox in 1982 but the Rangers connection didn’t end there. Jock Wallace had returned north from Leicester City to Motherwell and wanted the full-back to add some experience to the squad.

“Wee Bill McMurdo had phoned me up a few months earlier to say Jock was going to be leaving Leicester and was coming back to Scotland and would I want to join him. So I spoke to Jock who said he needed someone like me to tide them over for a year and give Motherwell a bit of experience.

After a season at Motherwell, Forsyth, by this point 31-years-old, made the switch across Lanarkshire to join Hamilton Accies. Bertie Auld and then John Lambie were his managers during two seasons in the first division, with future Rangers defender John Brown among his teammates.

“Bertie and John were characters too when I went to Accies,” he added. “The game lacks people like them now and both were great guys.

The Hamilton connection continued with Forsyth running the Auld Hoose Bar in the town for more than three decades.

“I was part-time at Accies and into my thirties so I knew my career was coming to an end. So I got the pub and ended up doing that for 30-odd years.

“I’m 68 so I’ve retired now. But I always enjoyed it behind the bar and hearing all the football chat from the regulars.”

These days he prefers to spend his weekends at Ibrox and he and his wife have season ticket seats in the Bill Struth Main Stand.

“I think Steven is going to be a tip-top manager,” reckoned Forsyth. “He has a great attitude and he speaks really well. If you watch him after a match he’s one of the very few managers who waits until every player comes off the park and shakes hands with them all.

“I saw Jurgen Klopp was tipping him recently to become the Liverpool manager one day but not for a while I hope! I’d like to see him stay at Rangers for a few more years and win us a few trophies before he moves on.”