IT’S been more than 20 years since Rangers secured title glory on one of the most dramatic days Scottish football has ever seen.
Two decades on, one of that Gers side’s championship-winning heroes has landed a major new role in English football.
Nobody connected with Rangers will ever forget Helicopter Sunday in 2005.
Sunday, May 22 will be a day forever etched into the memories of Light Blues fans as they secured the SPL title under Alex McLeish in truly remarkable fashion.
Nacho Novo’s goal at Hibs looked it would be in vain with Celtic doing what was required against Motherwell at Fir Park.
That was until THAT late Scott McDonald double saw Well stage a shocking turnaround that sent the helicopter carrying the league trophy from the direction of North Lanarkshire to that of Edinburgh instead.
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One of the heroes of that Rangers side was Gregory Vignal.
As it turned out, that 2004/05 campaign would be the French defender’s only season at Ibrox.
A loan signing from English giants Liverpool, Vignal played 42 games to help the Gers to a league and League Cup duble.
The left-back made himself a firm favourite with Gers fans when he struck the opening goal in a 2-0 win at Celtic Park in February 2005, a result that moved the Light Blues three points clear in the title battle at that point in time.
Vignal played for a host of clubs following his stint with Rangers, including Portsmouth, Lens, Southampton, Birmingham and Dundee United.
After his retirement in 2013, he swiftly moved into coaching back in his native France.
In January 2018, Vignal made a surprise return to Rangers as he took up a role within the club’s academy.
He would swiftly move through the coaching ranks at the Ibrox club, leading the under-18 team a league and cup double in 2019.
During this time, he spoke of his desire to one day become a manager – potentially the Rangers boss.
Vignal also worked alongside his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard within the first team setup.
In the summer of 2019, he landed the role of head coach of Rangers Women.
The women’s club had just turned professional and Vignal was credited with a key role in making that happen.
After only a year in the role, he departed the club.
Since then, Vignal has undertaken several coaching positions and France and also enjoyed a couple of years with Dundee’s academy.
Now, he’s landed a major new role in English football.
Vignal has been appointed the under-21s manager at Blackburn Rovers.
The Ibrox cult hero, now 44, revealed he sought from advice from none other than the great Sir Kenny Dalglish before taking on the position.
Liverpool and Celtic great Dalglish was Blackburn boss between 1991 and 1995, famously leading the Ewood Park club to the Premier League title in his final season.
Vignal told the Blackburn website: “This is a great opportunity for me and England is where I always wanted to work.
“To be the new Under-21s Head Coach for Blackburn Rovers is an amazing feeling, because of the size and the history of this football club, and I believe this is one of the best Academies in the country for producing top players.
“I also spoke with Sir Kenny Dalglish a few days ago and he told me great things about the environment at this football club. I believe this Academy is special and I’m really looking forward to getting started.
“Our job is to make sure the players are ready to step up. We want to create like a first team environment within the Under-21s squad, where the players are fitter, stronger and ready to go, because when the manager needs them, they have to be ready.
“So they need to understand the process and they have to trust the process, which is really important for me.”
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Former Gers boss Gerrard, meanwhile, is in the frame for his own return to the coaching frontline.
Just weeks after turning down a return to Ibrox, the title-winning boss is on the shortlist for a major job in England.
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