McGeouch knew his heart still lay at Parkhead

DYLAN McGeouch said yesterday that a plea from former Rangers manager Walter Smith was not enough to stop him returning from Ibrox to his first love Celtic.

The 18-year-old Celtic fan started his career at Parkhead before moving to Rangers in 2008, but was persuaded by Neil Lennon to return in the summer.

McGeouch introduced himself to the Celtic fans in style last week with a wonderful solo goal after coming on as a substitute to seal a 5-0 win against St Mirren, and was at Parkhead yesterday to publicise the club’s Christmas coaching courses.

Asked if Smith, who stepped down at the end of last season, had tried to keep him at Ibrox, the midfielder was keen to stress it was not a snub, but said: “Yes, I was in a few meetings with Rangers before I came here and there were a lot of things said. It is hard to say what without going into details but they wanted to keep me.

“It wasn’t about saying no to him (Smithy), we didn’t really speak about Celtic, it was more about what he could do with me with Rangers.

“I didn’t play them (Celtic and Rangers) off each other, it was really about what Rangers could do for me and as a Celtic fan I just thought Celtic was the place for me.

“I wouldn’t move to a club for the financial side, you would need to be happy and obviously Celtic was the team I grew up watching so I thought I would be happy here, which I am. To come on in my home debut and score obviously helps me and helps me settle into the team as well.”

As he did when he met the media immediately after the St Mirren game, McGeouch showed a maturity in his attitude towards Rangers at odds with much of the bitterness which surrounds the Old Firm rivalry. The Glaswegian revealed he still keeps in touch with some of his former team-mates at Ibrox who congratulated him after last week’s goal.

“A few of the boys texted me and said congratulations,” he said. “I’ve got a good relationship with some of the boys at Rangers, I get on well with them outside of football so it was good to get a wee message off them.

“I am not really used to all the attention so it has been a bit of a shock,” he added. “It has been hectic. The family have all been round and I think they have enjoyed the goal more than I have. It means a lot to them.

“But playing football is the main priority and the other stuff is irrelevant to what happens on the park. Once you start thinking that you have made it, the football gets slack.

“You have to keep your feet on the ground and, as I said, the hard work starts here.”