ROSS McCAUSLAND insists he made the right decision to leave Rangers.
The Northern Irishman, 22, quit his boyhood club at the beginning of the month to seal a loan move to Aris Limassol and will join the Cypriot club permanently next summer.
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He spent six years in Glasgow after being snapped up from Linfield as a youngster in 2019, but only enjoyed brief spells as a regular starter in the first team near the end of his stint.
Leaving the Govan giants wasn’t a decision he took lightly, but he quickly realised his time was coming to an end when the new Russell Martin era was beginning to take shape this summer.
But McCausland will always cherish the memories he made in Glasgow.
After making his debut for Aris Limassol in 2-2 draw against AEK Athens in the first leg of their Uefa Conference League qualifier last night, McCausland told SunSport: “Playing for Rangers was something I always wanted to do.
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“Sometimes, though, that’s not the case and you can’t hold onto things.
“I wish (my time) at Rangers would have went better but that wasn’t the case.
“Minutes (on the pitch) is something I need at my age and I wasn’t getting that at Rangers.
“I had a good chat with Russell (Martin) when he came in and that was the decision we made (for me to leave) and I’m glad we made that decision.”
McCausland was involved in the first pre-season fixture against Club Brugge and featured in two friendlies behind closed doors against Dunfermline and Hamilton Accies – scoring against the latter.
But when Rangers travelled down south to the home of English football at St George’s Park, the winger was left out of the squad altogether for the 1-1 draw with Barnsley.
That’s when he realised his time was up in Glasgow.
He said: “I would say after St George’s was when I knew it was going to happen.
“You get a bit of wind that it’s going to happen and you just need to prepare yourself for that.
“After not getting regular game time the last couple of months, I think that prepared my mind that it was going to be the case.
“Look, it happened and it’s not really fazed me. I’m here to do well and move on.”
McCausland might no longer be a Rangers player, but he will remain a Rangers fan for the rest of his days.
He watched on as Martin’s men got off to a flier in the Champions League third round qualifier against Viktoria Plzen with a remarkable 3-0 win in the first leg at Ibrox.
He was blown away by the performance and even had special praise for two men who replaced him at Ibrox – Djeidi Gassama and Oliver Antman.
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The winger continued: “I watched the full game. It’s something I’m going to do, watch all the games if I can.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to leave me. It’s something that will live with me for the rest of my life.
“I thought they were excellent. The two wingers – in my position obviously – were excellent, I thought.”
But now McCausland begins a new chapter of his career in new surroundings in Cyprus.
Some things do remain the same, though, as he’s linked up with two old friends in Limassol – and two former Ibrox colleagues no less.
The wide-man had interest from the MLS and other clubs in Europe, but the lure of working with Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun again was too much to turn down.
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But before he could answer why he opted for Aris over other clubs, McCausland was interrupted by Balogun who laughed: “Because I’m here!”
Then when the winger was asked if the pair did help convince him to make the move, he replied: “Yeah, for sure. Familiar faces.
“I think when I narrowed them down – obviously a lot of interest from America as well – I felt here is a great way of living.
“It’s a different lifestyle and a completely different way of living.
“Taking that step while I’m young, when I don’t have any liabilities and stuff like that. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
He was thrown into the deep end last night as he made his debut from the start in a tough tie against AEK Athens.
And it looked like his European dream with his new club was over just as it began as Aris plunged to a 2-0 deficit after just 12 MINUTES in their home leg.
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A remarkable comeback saw them pull it back level in the first half, though, and the tie is there for the taking in Athens next week.
He said: “I think it’s just trying to keep calm. We’ve got so many experiences boys at the back – Connor and Leon.
“You just need to rely on them in a way and try to bring an impact to the game yourself.
“At times it was tough to get up the pitch but I think in terms of how the team played, we showed great quality to get back into the game and it puts us in a good spot for next week.”
And they certainly relied on Rangers hero Goldson as the stand-in skipper rifled home the equaliser with a stunning volley – that even caught the defender by surprise, according to McCausland.
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Asked if he knew the defender had a goal like that in his locker, McCausland replied: “I’ve never seen it, no, to be fair! I was standing right behind it and it was an absolute screamer!
“I don’t think he could believe either.”
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