Connor Barron's Rangers graduation sends former coach into 'proud dad' mode as Ibrox favourite reveals text pep talk

The irony is that it used to be part of his day job.

Identifying the best young talent in the game, then nurturing those players and getting them ready for the Rangers first team., Kevin Thomson loved every minute of those responsibilities as a youth coach at Auchenhowie, until he branched out on his own into management at Kelty Hearts – and unwittingly started the process all over again.

One phonecall to old mate Scott Brown set the wheels in motion as Thomson tied up a deal with the former Celtic skipper to take Connor Barron on loan from Aberdeen’s youth system. Barron now cites that move as one of the key factors in his meteoric rise at Pittodrie on the fast-track journey which has now taken him to Ibrox as one of Philippe Clement’s new recruits. And former Rangers lynchpin Thomson believes the 21-year-old has always been destined for the top end of the game.

He said: ”I’ll be like a proud dad when I see Connor playing for Rangers, knowing that I maybe had a good influence on his development. I sent him a text after the deal was done to congratulate him and tell him he was going to a special place – just remember, the hard work never stops!

“If you were gambling on someone maximising their talent through being humble and hard working, the wee man would fall into that bracket. He’s also got the mentality not to be phased by playing for a club of Rangers’ size and that’s so important for any young player.”

There is another irony in all of this, of course. Thomson – widely regarded as one of the top young coaching talents in the country – remains out of work after helping Kelty to the League Two title two years ago. And he’d jump at the chance of returning to his old club to help monitor Barron’s progression.

He smiled through gritted teeth: “I’m probably the only coach in the country who won a title in their last job but is sitting in the house without a club! I’m not getting the violin out – it’s a saturated market and there are loads of young coaches like myself all looking for work. But it’s nice when young players like Connor, Alex Lowry or Leon King still reach out to you and hold you in high regard.”

Thomson always suspected Barron’s future would be bright. He recalled: “When he was in Aberdeen’s youth system he always used to play a year above his age group even though he’s small in stature. I liked the fact he could handle that physicality.

“At the tail end of my time at Rangers we had Harris O’Connor, Chris McKee and Adam Devine out on loan at Brechin and I would go to watch their games. Wee Connor was also on loan there and that’s when I got to see him play League Two football, albeit with a team that was at the bottom of the league.

“I like his tenacity and the fact that he had a bit about him. He could handle the ball even though, with all due respect to Brechin, he was playing in quite a poor team. They were struggling but he was still holding his own and looking like a stand out.

“It was the same when he was captaining Aberdeen’s Under-18s against our boys. When I went to Kelty he was someone I was desperate to get. It helped that Stephen Glass and Scotty were in charge at Pittodrie. You just trust your eye and your instincts.

“I knew he had the experience of playing first-team football in that division and I felt if I could put his talent in a slightly better team with a different style of play, it would really suit him. I also got Kieran Ngwenya from Aberdeen. Both were humble, such hard workers and desperate to learn. They were like a coach’s dream really!

“Connor was always quite unassuming, but he was so tenacious when he trained that it rubbed off on everyone. He was always looking for wee golden nuggets of advice and that suited me down to the ground.

“We had a team that dominated the ball. I wanted him to thrive on that. Sometimes he’d be a little careless on the ball but he had the capacity to win it straight back.

“But I would tell him, ‘When you’re playing against better players and you give it away, you’re not going to see the ball again for a while!’. He just needed to tidy those wee things up and he did. I realised we weren’t going to have him for long because he’d be going back to Aberdeen, but I wanted to give him the best advice so he could go back there and flourish.“

Thomson admits there were times last season he feared that Barron might have to take a backward step as he struggled for game time in an under-performing Dons side. He said: “He was in and out of the team under Barry Robson.

“When Peter Leven took over Connor got a run of games and Aberdeen turned the corner and Connor was an integral part in that. When you see him not getting a game with Aberdeen, you wonder if he’s not quite reached the heights or if he may have to leave there, take a step back to kick on again. But he’s managed to make the next step in his career by signing for Rangers and I fully expect him to make the most of it.”