THINGS can change very quickly in the life of a footballer.
That’s something one of Rangers’ 2021 title heroes found out very quickly.
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Steven Gerrard led the Light Blues to the Scottish Premiership title four years ago, the Gers’ first championship in a decade and one that ended Celtic’s quest for 10-in-a-row.
It as a season that saw Rangers go unbeaten on league duty with several key stars upping their game to relentless levels.
One of the Gers’ big signings in the summer ahead of the memorable campaign was Kemar Roofe.
Formerly of Leeds, the striker joined in a £4.5million deal from Belgian giants Anderlecht.
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Roofe proved a solid acquisition and would finish as the club’s top scorer in the league that season with 14 goals.
That was despite the fact he spent plenty of time on the treatment table, something that would hamper his entire career at Ibrox.
Roofe’s Rangers career came to an end a year ago when he was released at the end of his contract.
He moved on after two highly frustrating seasons that saw him manage just three and 15 league appearances respectively.
Roofe, 32, probably couldn’t have foreseen that he would be without a club for the next EIGHT MONTHS after his Rangers exit.
With clubs potentially spooked by his injury record, the Jamaica international was forced to train alone for several months as he never gave up his ambition of finding another club.
And he was forced to do so in rather humbling circumstances – a public park.
He told RG: “The grass wasn’t cut, the pitches would be frozen at times.
“There’d be dog poo on the pitch and dogs running on the pitch as well.”
Roofe eventually found a new club in February this year when he joined English Championship outfit Derby County on a short-term deal.
He admitted: “(The move) was always going to be a risk because I was out for eight months training by myself.”
Despite his lengthy spell out of the game, Roofe appeared as a substitute in the two games immediately after his signing.
But once again, injury peril struck.
He suffered a hamstring injury and wouldn’t feature again until the final game of the season.
Roofe conceded: “I was pushing myself a bit more to try and get a bit of extra fitness into me, so I’d be better prepared for the game, and yeah, I probably pushed a bit too much.”
A year after his Rangers release, he finds himself a free agent.
Roofe was confirmed to be one of the players leaving Derby when the revealed their list of released players last month.
He’s admitted that after joining a club mid-season, the end of the campaign doesn’t come at a great time for him.
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Instead of going on holiday as most players do, Roofe will be working hard on his fitness once more.
He also revealed how he keeps a JOURNAL to keep him motivated during the tougher periods, saying it keeps him centred and means “there’s no kind of hiding place.”
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