Rangers unveil bronze bust in tribute to legend Sandy Jardine

Rangers have unveiled a bronze bust in tribute to club legend Sandy Jardine as they prepare to face another of his former teams in Hearts on Sunday.

The bust, which was paid for by Rangers fans, will be permanently displayed on the marble staircase below the hall of fame board in the Main Stand at Ibrox.

Sandy’s wife Shona and other family members will be guests at Sunday’s game and Greatest Ever Ranger John Greig will also be present at the official unveiling ceremony.

Jardine was part of Rangers’ European Cup Winners' Cup-winning team of 1972 and played more than 600 times for the Ibrox side. The full-back won three top-flight titles, five Scottish Cups and five Scottish League Cups before moving to Hearts in 1982.

Sandy was a total gentleman. You could approach him at any time at Ibrox or Tynecastle, anywhere.

He had a two-year spell as joint manager with former Gers team mate Alex MacDonald after the pair took over in 1986.

He passed away at the age of 65 in April last year after an 18-month battle with cancer.

MacDonald, who was also part of Rangers' European success in Barcelona, paid tribute to Jardine and said he deserved to be recognised by the club.

“It’s fantastic,” he told Sky Sports News HQ. “It’s certainly a good liking of Sandy. even prettier looking, I think.

“It’s really nice and a great tribute to Sandy and he thoroughly deserved it.

“Hearts on Sunday is going to be a really hard game. It will be a good game with a great atmosphere and Shona is coming through so it should be really nice.

“He was a total gentleman. You could approach Sandy at any time at Ibrox or Tynecastle, anywhere. He did a magnificent job here at Ibrox, he helped every manager and I’m sure he must have spoken to a lot of people, kids-wise and tried to help them to make them better players. He was a fantastic guy.”

'Tremendous honour'

Rangers interim chairman Paul Murray told the club’s website: “It was a tremendous honour and privilege to know Sandy and he epitomised everything that is good about Rangers Football Club.

“A man of great integrity, he is sorely missed but will never be forgotten. The Sandy Jardine Stand is a lasting tribute to his memory and the bronze bust created in his honour will be given pride of place on the Marble Staircase.

“The Rangers supporters have been the driving force behind this tribute and everyone at the Club would like to thank all of the fans who helped raise the funds some time ago for its creation.”

MacDonald also believes Rangers are now heading in the right direction following the recent change in leadership at board level which saw Dave King and his allies oust the former directors.

And MacDonald is hoping change off the park has come just in time to help see Rangers promoted alongside his former club Hearts.

He said: “The changes are fantastic. I think the gentlemen who have taken over now are all Rangers men and they’ll be getting the supporters behind them I hope and they’ll give it back to the supporters which has been missing.

It just shows you what a good woman can do for you. They have Craig Levein through there who is a shrewd cookie and he’s obviously helping Robbie Neilson.

“The team are looking a bit more confident which you need on this park. There is a lot of pressure on here and a lot of eyes looking on you. The confidence is there and Stuart McCall and Kenny Black have done exceptionally well in the last couple of weeks.

“I think they’ll get promoted. I think the confidence is there. If they get a good result on Sunday then look out. This wee run, the consistency, I think they’ll do it without any doubt. The supporters will be right behind them."

MacDonald also paid tribute to Hearts owner Ann Budge who has guided the club out of administration and helped to lead them back to the Scottish Premiership at the first time of asking.

He said: “It just shows you what a good woman can do for you. They have Craig Levein through there who is a shrewd cookie and he’s obviously helping Robbie.

“They’ve got the players working - I think they work really hard and that’s what it’s all about. The more you put in the more you take out.”