BlueMeanie
Well-Known Member
NEW Kelty Hearts manager Kevin Thomson has revealed Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was the last person he spoke to before leaving Ibrox - and how he plans to take his job one day.
The former Gers youth coach left Govan to take up his first management role in senior football with the Fife side, newly-promoted into League Two.
He will replace another ex-Light Blues midfielder at the helm of the ambitious club in Barry Ferguson.
As he prepares to take the reins at New Central Park, he lifted the lid on the conversations he had with Gerrard that convinced him it was the right time to move on.
Thomson told the Essential Scottish Football Podcast: "The gaffer's been unbelievable with me to be fair - to be honest I think he's unbelievable with everyone, he's got time for everyone.
"I never knew him obviously apart form knowing his playing career and how wonderful a football player he was.
"I'd played against him pre-season one year for Rangers against Liverpool but apart from that I'd never came across him.
"So for him to have his door open for a young coach like myself was amazing.
"I'd like to think that it's like that at every club but I'm pretty sure it's not.
"So when I spoke to the manager he did say that obviously our journeys are different - his dream is to obviously get to where he wants to get to [at Liverpool].
"My dream is to hopefully be in his seat one day and your gut has to tell you whether your path is right.
"He [Gerrard] was actually the last person I spoke to.
"His phone call was the one that made my mind up.
"I felt that he had done what I had. I've done the academy for a bit longer than he did but when I weighed things up and got a lot of advice from a lot of good people, it made my gut feel that it was the right decision."
Thomson, 36, has his own academy that he set up towards the end of his playing days.
The former midfielder, who came through the ranks at Hibs, admitted that he's been waiting for the chance to step up from youth coaching for some time.
He said: "I've been waiting for this day for a long time.
"It's always been my path, always been my vision.
"You need to be bold, you need to take opportunities when they come along and I felt that having a wonderful relationship with Rangers, everyone knows how much I love it and loved working there.
"The club has a massive place in my heart so it was a difficult one but at the same time I think that if I want to get to where I want to get to then it was an opportunity I really had to take seriously and look at.
"Ultimately you do a lot of due diligence, you speak to a lot of people, you ask for advice and in the end it just felt right."