SIR DAVID MURRAY insists his final five years at Ibrox were even MORE satisfying than capturing the coveted Nine in a Row.
The former Rangers owner was in charge for 23 years as the club reached a European final and came within 90 minutes of the first-ever Champions League final.
2
2
They also gathered nine straight league titles for the only time in the club’s history — completing a clean sweep between 1989 and 1997 under Walter Smith.
But Sir David — speaking exclusively to SunSport — rates Smith’s return in early 2007 and the next five years as the highlight.
He said: “Taking all factors into consideration, I think the last five years were remarkable.
“Previously, we had money to spend but it was tight when Walter came back.
Read More Football Stories
“Paul Le Guen hadn’t worked out.
“When Walter came back, he wanted to sign David Weir and Christian Dailly. It was unbelievable but he knew how to do it.
“Having Alistair McCoist and Kenny McDowall with him, they were a unit full of motivation.
“We won eight trophies in five years. When I left, it was on the brink of Three in a Row.”
Murray appointed just four men as manager over 23 years — Smith (twice), Le Guen, Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish.
And he recalls with great fondness the run to the 2008 UEFA Cup final in Manchester — despite ultimately falling to Advocaat’s Zenit St Petersburg.
He added: “If you look at the UEFA Cup run in 2008, the penalty shoot-out against Fiorentina stands out.
“Christian Vieri, who cost millions, missed and Nacho Novo — a free from Dundee — slotted it away.
“What we had at that time was a tightness and a bond.
“People on the outside thought they knew things but there was no leakage.
The David Murray files
Ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray APOLOGISES to fans for selling club to Craig Whyte 14 years after deal led to collapse
My dad took the fall for ‘disastrous’ deal & was jailed for FRAUD, reveals ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray
Inside 007 legend Sean Connery’s secret £1m Rangers investment as bombshell details revealed for first time
Former Rangers supremo Sir David Murray admits his decision to sell to Craig Whyte ‘tarnished’ his Ibrox legacy
‘I still have shards in my leg’, says ex-Rangers supremo Sir David Murray as he breaks 50-year silence on car crash hell
“I can’t do this” – Sir David Murray reveals that he almost sold Rangers for £40million in 2005
Ex-Rangers owner Murray recalls chilling phone call after fatal private jet crash which Scots F1 hero walked away from
“We fought together and won games that, on paper, we probably shouldn’t have won.
“We beat Werder Bremen with a great save from Allan McGregor and you remember it all.
“We ran out of steam in the final after Dick went and bought a Russian player for millions!
Football’s scoop of the century
By Roger Hannah
IT’S The Sun Wot Broke It.
But Sir David Murray didn’t mind that his historic swoop for Maurice Johnston was first revealed on the front page of this newspaper in 1989.
He was just relieved he’d managed to help Graeme Souness pull off a transfer swoop which rocked Scottish football.
Even now, 36 years on, landing the Scotland striker from Celtic’s grasp — and making him the first high- profile Catholic to play for Gers — is regarded as the most audacious swoop of all time.
And Murray recalls: “All the talk was of Johnston joining Celtic. But Graeme came to me and said, ‘Apparently he’s not signed, the paperwork’s not done, we can get him’.
“I asked for a day to think about it, phoned him and said, ‘Yes, I think we should do it for numerous reasons — for football reasons and to remove an area where we can be criticised for not signing Catholic players. And why not make it the best one, who can come in and contribute?’
“Even though at that time Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist were the strikers and had an excellent partnership.
“Finally, just 24 hours before we were due to unveil the player, we took a call from a young journalist at The Sun in Scotland ahead of a story being published.
“On July 10, 1989, The Sun ran half of its front page with the simple headline MO JOINS GERS.
“It certainly didn’t spoil the unveiling. If anything, it ramped up the tension!”
Johnston, who had played with Celts before a spell at Nantes in France, was pictured with Hoops boss Billy McNeill in 1989 but hadn’t signed his contract to return.
Gers boss Souness, who had played with Johnston for Scotland, realised the move hadn’t been concluded and kickstarted the monumental move.
“That was an amazing achievement considering where we’d been 18 months before.”
In his new autobiography, Murray details his relationship with all four men he appointed — and close pal Graeme Souness, who he inherited as boss when he bought the club in 1988.
– Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Preorder on Amazon here.
Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
