STEVEN Gerrard’s side may have come up just short in their bid to equal Rangers’ post-war record for consecutive league wins on Sunday afternoon when they failed to beat Motherwell at Fir Park.

But one of the players who helped the Ibrox club to triumph in 16 games on the spin in the old First Division back in the 1972/73 campaign is confident they will be able to go one better than Jock Wallace’s team this term. 

Quintin Young made an immediate impact for his boyhood heroes after joining them from Coventry City in a swap deal with striker Colin Stein in the October of that memorable season.

The skilful winger scored goals in victories over East Fife, Partick Thistle, Falkirk, Kilmarnock, Morton, Motherwell, Arbroath, Airdrie and Dumbarton during a hot streak of form that lasted for almost four months. 

However, the Glasgow club still ended up being pipped to the Scottish title by their city rivals Celtic by just a solitary point. 

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Young, who is now 73 and living in his native Ayrshire, takes a keen interest in how Rangers are faring and has been delighted to see them performing so well under Gerrard both domestically and in Europe since football restarted in this country back in August. 

The man who played and netted for the European Cup Winners’ Cup champions in the European Super Cup double header against Ajax exactly 48 years ago this month is certain they will go on and prevail in the Premiership despite the slip-up at the weekend. 

“They were all good boys in that Rangers team and it was easy to play with them after I joined in 1972,” he said. “I had played at Coventry as a right winger, but I played for Rangers as a left winger. I was two footed. I scored quite a few goals in that winning run that we went on. Sadly, we finished just behind Celtic in the league.  

“I am still a Rangers fan. I was a season ticket holder until a few years ago. Now I listen to the games on the wireless and watch them on the telly when I can. I am always getting told off for shouting at the wireless and the telly! But I have been pleased to see them enjoying success this season. 

“Steven Gerrard? He has done well that boy. For a rookie manager, he has done very well. He and his staff have done very well. He has helped to drive up standards. I hope that Rangers hold onto him. They didn’t match our record on Sunday, but I still think they will go on and win the league. They are so far ahead.”

Young, who was brought in to replace fans’ favourite Willie Johnston, helped Rangers to atone for the disappointment of missing out on the First Division trophy just a week later by beating Celtic 3-2 in the Scottish Cup final in front of 122,714 fans at Hampden. 

“We got the better of them in the centenary final that season,” he said. “That victory was the highlight of my time at Rangers and one of the highlights of my career. It was a great result for us. 

“Willie Johnston came back up to Glasgow for that game. He came along to a party in Glasgow with Graham Fyfe and I after it. When we were in the car I said to him: ‘Willie, do you know the best thing Rangers ever did?’ He said: ‘No, what?’ I told him: ‘Sell you and buy me!’ He replied: ‘You cheeky b******!’”

Lifting silverware with Rangers was a dream come true for the former miner – especially as he thought that his chance to pull on a light blue jersey had passed him by two years earlier.   

“It was always an ambition of mine to play for Rangers,” he said. “My family were supporters and I had grown up as a supporter. I had gone to see them play Ayr United at Somerset Park as a wee boy of just 10. My mother and father didn’t even know I was there. I loved Ralph Brand, Jimmy Millar and Jim Baxter. 

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“Ayr was my first club. Ally MacLeod was in charge at that time. He was a great manager, a fantastic motivator. He would shout at you when he felt you needed it, but he would give you a cuddle when he felt you needed it too. He was good for me and did a lot of work with me. He had been a winger himself in his playing days.  

“I played against Rangers for Ayr and was on the winning team twice. I scored against them too. In one game I actually scored an own goal and then went up the park, won a free-kick and scored the winner. 

“I spoke to a couple of Rangers players and they told me to ask for a transfer. I was tapped twice. But I didn’t do it. When I went to Coventry in 1971 thought the chance to play at Ibrox had gone. I thought: ‘Rangers won’t sign me now’. 

“Coventry was a good move for me. They were in the top division in England at that time. I was a part-time player at Ayr. I worked down the pits. I could hardly sign the contract because my hands were shaking so much. It was an easy decision to make. 

“But the next thing I know Coventry did a swap deal with Colin Stein. So I got my wish in the end. Before I signed I asked them what was happening with Willie Johnston and was told he was going to be sold. He joined West Brom shortly afterwards. But I never felt any pressure.”

Fyfe, who left Rangers and joined East Fife in 1976 following a disagreement with Wallace, is currently self-isolating in his home amid the coronavirus pandemic. But he is hoping he will be able to celebrate Rangers’ title win later this season. “I can’t get out the house,” he said. “It is boring. The pubs aren’t open!”