Ross McCrorie would always look up to Kal Naismith, literally and figuratively.
Aged 12, and a prospect in the Rangers academy, McCrorie used to be a ball boy for the reserve games involving a still young but considerably more developed teenage Naismith. The Glaswegian represented what could be possible for a wide-eyed talent looking to progress up through the academy.
More than a decade and several clubs between them later, McCrorie is looking up to him once again. This time as a teammate but also a friend - or pal, to use the correct term. For it’s Naismith who’s helped him settle in so quickly and feel at home in surroundings 370 miles south of Ibrox. Funny how football works out sometimes.
A bit like Naismith, who left Rangers to play for Accrington Stanley, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Luton Town and now City, McCrorie’s route also had to deviate away from the blue side of Glasgow with loans at Ayr United, Dumbarton and Pompey and then Aberdeen proving necessary destinations to progress his career after failing to make a sustained breakthrough at Rangers.
You’d have to say both of them don’t mind the travel, considering the various corners of England and Scotland they’ve covered between them before landing in the West Country. But it still always has its challenges - adapting to a new city, country, colleagues and way of life.
Naismith is not alone in making McCrorie feel so welcome and part of a squad he knew little of on a personal level until that first day of pre-season training at the end of June, as Joe Williams and Andi Weimann’s enduring sociable manner has also aided his adjustment. Joining him for dinner and introducing him to the City Coffee Club makes everything that bit more enjoyable and less daunting than it needs to be.
“The boys have been top class since I’ve come in,” McCrorie tells Bristol Live. “I sort of roughly knew Kal Naismith through Glasgow and the same upbringing with Rangers. But the other boys have also been a credit. I’ve settled in really well.
“I’ve got to give a special mention to big Kal, Joe and Andi - the three of them. We’ve been out for food with Joe and Andi and have just been made to feel really welcome and it’s helped me settle in. I’m enjoying it.
“I remember Kal fondly from the Rangers days. He’s had a great career, he’s played in the Champ for a while now and he’s an established player. He’s quite similar in that he went away from Rangers to get the games and he racked them up and he’s a top player now.
“We’ve got a good group here, we’ve got the coffee club and the boys go out for dinner. That was a big one for me coming down here, it had to be a good changing room and a good group of boys and it absolutely is, I could not say a bad word about anybody in the team.”
Shout-outs are also afforded to “the main man” and “absolute ledge” Scott Murray who’s “daft like me” and, during our conversation shouts across, while passionately tapping his chest, that McCrorie is an honorary Aberdonian. While first-team operations manager Matt Parsons has, in a short space of time and with a considerable amount of information, personally and professionally, for McCrorie to consume has helped the 25-year-old settle in an apartment and taken him on a whistle-stop tour of Bristol.
McCrorie has had to learn on the job to a certain extent. Arriving four days into pre-season following his time spent away with the Scotland squad, the Robins were already into the throes of the pre-season programme and while he was familiar with a few established faces such as Weimann, Andy King and Matty James, one of the fundamental reasons he was brought into the squad means that, naturally, he's had to make his presence felt quickly to a certain extent.
It may not seem obvious but McCrorie is a slight anomaly among Pearson-era signings in that he’s right in his mid-20s with the bulk of the arrivals over the last three years broadly either late-20s/early 30s or very much in the first few years of their career.
That isn’t a coincidence, because for all his technical qualities and defensive ability, Pearson wants more experience and in-game nous in the squad, but to not have to sacrifice anything to achieve it. McCrorie has 220 appearances to his name, a character-building loan spell at Portsmouth and, as he admits, three years at Aberdeen where he’s transformed from being one such young talent into a senior professional.
“I did a wee bit of due diligence,” McCrorie added. “Obviously, it’s a young squad and they were crying out for a bit of experience and during my chats with the gaffer it was all about bringing some consistency to the team. For me, it was about coming down and trying to have an impact and help progress the club to obviously get promotion. Everyone is here for that, with the facilities, and there’s no excuses.
“I knew about a few of the boys, those who have been in the Champ for a few years: Andi Weimann, Matty James, Kingy - there are experienced pros here, so I can learn from them, but I can also help the younger ones coming through.”
That loan at Pompey, when McCrorie made the long journey to the south coast, aged 21, and with considerable hype behind him as the next big thing at Rangers only to suffer an inconsistent and injury-plagued season.
Miles from home, friends and family, it’s cliché but he had to grow up quickly, experiencing some significant bumps in the road having been carefully nurtured at Ibrox and represented Scotland at every level from U15 to U21.
His impact at Fratton Park may have been minimal, relative to the excitement that first greeted his presence, but that season still had a transformational effect on his progress as a player, further enhanced by his three seasons at Aberdeen.
“When people say games is what young players need, I absolutely agree,” McCrorie adds. “Having done the last few years at Aberdeen it’s a massive plus for a young player to get games. I feel 10 times the player that I did four years ago when I was at Portsmouth.
"I really enjoyed it. I was a young boy at the time and had a big learning curve because I had two big injuries there and that was another side, the mental part of it, and I really came out the other side a different player.
"And obviously at Aberdeen I came on leaps and bounds and I think that helped me to become an all-rounded player. My qualities went up, I worked on my weaknesses up there and I just feel like 10 times the player I was, miles better.”
Much like the man he used to watch from the sidelines all those years ago, McCrorie shares the versatility trait; capable of operating in defence, midfield, wing-back and full-back, that alone meant there was considerable intrigue around the prospect of him signing.
Having line-up at right-back against Swindon, the Scot reinforces Pearson's earlier view that it's the role he will likely be specialising in during his time at Ashton Gate, and other positional responsibilities will be given to him should the situation dictate so.
“The idea was for me to play as a right-back, maybe a centre-back at times depending on the formation we play, but right-back is where I’ve been playing and spent a lot of my time at Aberdeen,” he admits, knowing that having built some initial strong connections off the field this next period of the summer can help him build them on it.
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