At last night’s annual Awards ceremony, Rangers captain Lee Wallace picked up the prestigious John Greig Achievement Award as well as the Player of the Year trophy.
Visibly emotional on stage as he was presented with the award from legend Greig, Wallace spoke of his delight at seeing the Greatest Ever Ranger back around the club this season.
Quoted by the Official Site he explained.
‘I would genuinely never have expected this. It was disappointing to lose John`s services and just having him in and around the club four and a half years ago. We are so inspired by him though and having him back in the hall with us tonight and on matchdays. But to win this honour, I am lost for words. He`s a club legend, and the way he conducts himself is so impressive. He`s so humble, and just the way that he is – every Ranger will understand what I mean by that. It is a huge honour and we are very privileged to have him with the club.’
Wallace went on to say that Greig is one of those who you should look at for inspiration at the club.
‘You always look to these guys as inspiration, and I`ve been fortunate myself to play with some really top captains, and there have been other captains through the history of this club who have brought huge success to the club. I want to try and have my own way, but you have to look at these guys and what they have achieved, and if I can achieve even an eighth or a sixteenth of what they brought as a captain, then we are going the right way.’
Speaking about being handed the skippers’ armband at the beginning of the season by Mark Warburton, he said he felt it had been a good fit with his style and that of assistant David Weir.
‘After the manager had told me that was going to be the case, he told me he wanted me to go and relish the responsibility. It`s a phrase I`ve used a lot, and I think I`ve done that. My character was never going to change, and I was never going to become someone different. I`d like to think the way in which the Manager and Davie coach, and the way I captain the team is quite similar, and that`s quite measured and I look at things and try and analyse things as opposed to the old-school ranting and raving. It`s a role I`ve obviously enjoyed, and one that I still have a long way to go in terms of learning.’
Wallace ended by giving praise to his team mates given the season the club have had.
‘The boys have been truly outstanding, and the manager and Davie and all the staff need to take an enormous amount of credit for what they`ve been able to achieve in such a short space of time. I think I`ve said on a number of occasions that bringing in the number of bodies that we did, and implementing a style of play much quicker than what would have been expected has been superb. We`ve all enjoyed it first and foremost, and we have been dominant in that style which has been pleasing and of course I`ve enjoyed being a part of this magnificent squad this season.’
As for the Player of the Year gong, he went on to say it meant as much to him as any other prize he’s picked up in his career, and again he was quick to praise his team mates for their efforts this year.
“This means the world to me. While I recognise it`s an individual award and I take great pride in that, we could have had a number of players up on that stage receiving this award based on the success of this season. As a consequence, it`s allowed the team to go on and be as successful as it has been. The team medals are going to live long with me, but they are every bit as special as each other, and you can never take it for granted. They are every bit as special as each other – whether it be team or individual – and this is certainly a night that I will always remember.”
He again had praise for Warburton and his impact on the club since arriving over the summer.
“We all definitely grew in belief. When the manager first spoke to us on that first day back at pre-season, that belief certainly grew and we certainly had the hunger, and slowly, week by week as we got used to each other we built up and built up and all of a season were beating Hibs 6-2. Then, I think many people on the outside realised that there was maybe something special happening here, but we had to go and prove it. We have been asked a number of questions, faced a number of challenges, but thankfully we`ve rose to them, and we still have our last challenge on May 21 to look forward to.”
As for the Scottish Cup Final itself, he added.
“The carrot is there for us. One of the manager`s main goals when we first spoke was European football, and we have got that carrot in that game, so we are going to be ready. We are looking forward to that game and we know if we deliver our level of performance then we will be fine going into that game.”
Congratulations to @RangersFC captain Lee Wallace who won the John Greig Special Achievement Award #RFCPOTY16 pic.twitter.com/VexoURv41H
? Rangers FC (@RangersFC) 24 April 2016
