Rangers’ striker Andrew Little is the man of the moment just now after scoring six goals in the opening weeks of the season. He hit home Rangers’ first goal of the new campaign and their first ever in The Ramsdens Cup against Brechin City at Glebe Park, edged the ball home to secure a draw at Peterhead, made off with an IRN-BRU match ball with a hat-trick against East Stirlingshire last Saturday and also scored the goal that knocked holders Falkirk out of The Ramsdens Cup on Tuesday night.
Little, however, is not going overboard in his excitement at how well things are going just now as he has experienced a number of ups and downs in his short career already and he also knows that he was just one car journey away from having a very different start to season 2012/13.
The 23-year-old, who made his debut for the Light Blues as a substitute for Kris Boyd in a 3–0 Scottish Cup Semi-Final success over St. Mirren in April, 2009, said: “I suppose you could look at some parts of my career and describe it as a roller-coaster.”
Five months after that Hampden success, Little experienced the first disappointment of his career in a live televised Old Firm SPL game as he explained: “I had made my debut in the first team before the Celtic match but that game was my first ever start. I am now better known as a forward but I had been playing at right back for the reserves as well as being a striker and I was keen on giving it a go in the first team.
“I started and I then damaged my hamstring in the first minute but tried to play on. I hobbled about for 12 minutes and then went off and then was out for something like six or eight weeks which, of course, was really disappointing.”
Little returned positively to first team action as he explained: “When I came back, I scored my first goal against Hearts and that was special for a few reasons. Firstly, it was a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Ibrox but what made it all the more amazing was that it was the first time all my family had come over from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland to see me play.
“All my brothers and sisters were there so it was a very special day.”
The following season, a wonder goal against Kilmarnock in The Co-operative Insurance Cup helped Little win the Young Player of the Round Award in October, 2010 but the game soon took on an added significance for the player.
He explained: “I remember saying at the time that I only won the award because of the goal as I did not do much else in the game. It was the second League Cup game in a row that I had played in as I played against Dunfermline in a game Rangers won 7-2.
"I was hoping to establish myself in the first team but against Kilmarnock, I really noticed a pain in my groin.
“I had experienced a niggle there for a couple of months but after the game, the Manager Walter Smith mentioned to me that I was not moving as well as I could have been. It was looked into and I needed an operation, which I had in the January, and that put paid to the rest of that season.”
Almost a year ago, Little was fighting fit and looking to get back to playing football and he opted on a loan move to Port Vale to get game time.
Little explained the move saying: “I was fit again, had a very good pre-season behind me and after being out for more than six months, I wanted to play games. I got the chance at Port Vale and took it immediately. I am pretty sure everyone thought it was the right thing for me to do.”
The move worked well initially with Little saying: “I went down, played a few games and was getting my match sharpness back. I was back in the Northern Ireland squad as well which was really important to me and just when things were going to plan, I suffered a medial ligament injury. It was a massive disappointment and I came back up the road.
“It took six weeks to get fit again and by that time, there was no real point in going back to Port Vale to see out the last week of my loan deal.
"I then worked my way back into things at Rangers at the start of this year and just when I was doing that, Administration at the club was announced on 14th February.”
A goal 12 days afterwards lifted some of the gloom as Little explained: “We went up to Inverness and won 4-0. I scored one of the goals and won the Man of the Match Award.
“That game also marked the start of me playing consistently and I ended the season having scored five goals.”
That tally also included another special family strike as Little advised: “That total of five included the one I netted against Celtic in the Old Firm game. I scored it with my first touch after coming on as a substitute and again it was a special one as my entire family were there. They have only all travelled over for two games and I have scored in them both which is pretty special.”
Little’s contract expired shortly after his goal in that 3-2 success and he returned home over the Irish Sea unsure what the future would bring.
“I was a free agent and I spent all of the summer in Northern Ireland following the Rangers situation waiting to see what was happening,” said Little before adding honestly, “When it was to be the Third Division, I did think of moving away.”
That thought process reached an advanced stage with Little saying: “I had a few offers from clubs down south and I was all set to move a couple of times. The car was packed but after waiting so long to establish myself in the Rangers first team, I did not want to give it up.
“I spoke to the Northern Ireland Manager, Michael O’Neill, and he told me that even although it was the Third Division, if I was playing regularly, it would not affect my international career. That was important to me.”
Little trained on his own during the uncertainties of the summer and has settled easily into the new way of things for Rangers as he explained: “I signed on the Thursday just before the season started up at Brechin. I must have missed a month of pre-season training but I had done a lot of work on my own.
“I started that game and scored the first goal which, of course, was a great moment. Whilst a lot has been made of Rangers playing at new places, I have been at most of the grounds already playing in testimonials or reserve games. I have been here for six years and been to a lot of the grounds and you just get on with things.”
Little scored a late equaliser up at Peterhead on the opening day of the IRN-BRU SFL Championship season from extremely close range and has carried on his good form in front of goal with a hat-trick against East Stirlingshire last Saturday and then netting the only goal of the game earlier this midweek resulting in Ally McCoist’s side progressing into the Quarter Final stage of The Ramsdens Cup where they will meet Queen of the South at Ibrox.
“Five games in and my fitness is getting better all the time,” said Little before adding, “And, of course, I got a match ball home with me for the first time in what was another special game at Ibrox. It was the first home game for Rangers in the Third Division and we wanted to put on a show. Mind you, it could not have started in a much worse way with East Stirling scoring their penalty after two minutes.
“It was important to react in the right way and we did that with the fans playing a really important part as well. They made sure our heads did not drop and to score three times and get the quite different IRN-BRU SFL match ball home with me was great.”
Little echoed the theme that has come from a number of people associated with Rangers that life in the SFL will be a journey as he explained: “We are looking at this season with a sense of adventure from a footballing point of view but probably more so in our away games. At home, not much has changed as we are still playing in front of 50,000 fans every second week. Facing new teams is refreshing I suppose.”
After the twists and turns his career has taken, Little was happy to finish by saying: “I was also involved with Northern Ireland recently against Finland so everything is going well just now.
“Long may it continue.”
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