Sandy Jardine

[Steve1872 4]

Sandy Jardine: I battled to save Rangers.. now I'm battling to save my own life8 Feb 2013 07:39

IBROX legend Sandy Jardine has spoken openly for the first time about his battle with cancer, the fight to save the club and his disgust at the stars who walked out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandy Jardine is battling cancerPhil Dye/Daily Record

 

SANDY JARDINE has opened his heart for the first time on his battle with cancer.

In a Daily Record exclusive, the Ibrox legend talks candidly about his fight for survival.

And as we approach the one-year anniversary of Rangers' plunge into administration, Jardine, 64, reveals:

* How he's vowed to expose Craig Whyte if he ever steps out of line.

* How he'll never forgive the SFA.

* His disgust at the contract rebels who walked out of Ibrox.

* And that his proudest moment was leading a supporters march to Hampden.

 

 

SANDY JARDINE spent 2012 battling desperately to save the club he loves.

The Rangers legend will spend this year fighting to save his life.

After playing a major role helping the Ibrox outfit emerge from the blackest of black holes and guiding them through the ignominy of liquidation, Jardine was hit by another crushing blow in November.

The 64-year-oldâ??s world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and liver.

And this time it really was life or death.

As one of the greatest ever players to don the Light Blue jersey, defeat was never a word in Jardineâ??s vocabulary and it is not something heâ??s contemplating as he braces himself for his toughest challenge.

Despite surviving a two-week stint in intensive care and being in the middle of a gruelling and draining course of chemotherapy, the former defender is determinedly upbeat and optimistic about the future.

Jardine was uplifted by the role the Rangers fans played in the clubâ??s survival and admits they have been a real source of inspiration in recent weeks.

He has been inundated with cards and messages of support including a touching letter from Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell.

 

 

His first goal was to get back on his feet after spending over a month in a hospital bed.

Now his next is to make a return to Ibrox to personally thank the fans who chant his name and applaud in the second minute (a tribute to the number he wore on his back during his 18 years as a player) of every home match.

Jardine said: â??I hope to get back to Ibrox before the end of the season. That is one of my big aims.

â??You need to set yourself targets and that is mine.

â??I mainly want to say thanks for the incredible support I have had from all the staff and the supporters.

Rangers fans march to Hampden is one of the proudest moments of my life, says Ibrox legend Sandy Jardine

â??I have not been to Ibrox yet but I hear the fans clap on two minutes every week which is very, very humbling. Iâ??m really grateful for things like that because it has given me a real lift.

â??When I was in hospital my wife kept all the letters and I have read every one of them.

â??There were hundreds and hundreds of them but I just donâ??t have the energy yet to reply.

â??I have had so many inspiring letters and I got a tremendous one from Peter Lawwell at Celtic, which was a really nice touch.â?

Jardine also owes a huge debt of gratitude to club doctor Paul Jackson. Indeed, if it hadnâ??t been for the Ibrox medic he shudders to think what the outcome might have been.

Jackson was also responsible for saving the life of Celtic great Murdo MacLeod after spotting he had a life-threatening heart condition. And he was again alert to the seriousness of Jardineâ??s situation.

Jardine said: â??It came completely out of the blue. Last November I had a sore throat and went to see Paul, our club doctor.

â??He spotted I had swollen glands but also noticed another little lump and arranged for it to be checked out.

â??I went to see a specialist who took a biopsy and within a week he came back to me with the bad news.

â??I have to admit I was taken aback, especially when they discovered I also had secondary cancer of the liver.

â??I know a lot of people are criticising the National Health but they have been absolutely fantastic.

â??I couldnâ??t speak highly enough of the doctors and nurses who have been treating me.â?

After overcoming the shock of his diagnosis and an initial liver operation, Jardineâ??s life was placed in even greater danger when he developed an infection and was rushed into intensive care.

Matter of factly he says: â??Because of the severity they had to treat my liver first so I had 80 per cent of it taken away. But the liver recovers.

â??Unfortunately I got an infection and I had to spend 12 days in the high dependency unit.

â??I then had another four weeks in hospital but I am at home now and trying to get back on my feet. Iâ??m in a battle and while it is so far so good there is a bit still to go.

â??I have had the first phase of my chemo and I start the next phase next Wednesday. It leaves me extremely tired but it is not as if I have any choice in the matter.

â??The doctors just told me I was very unlucky. Iâ??m not a smoker and only a very occasional drinker.

â??When I asked the doctors how Iâ??d got the cancer they said it had probably come from a virus.

â??I donâ??t think the added pressure from the Rangers situation had anything to do with it. â??

In a typically unselfish manner, Jardine is keen to play down the seriousness of his plight and genuinely appears more concerned for the Rangers support than they are for him. It goes without saying the past 12 months have been the worst of his life and while both he and Rangers have long fights on their hands he is confident they will both emerge victorious.

He added: â??I was maybe a figurehead for the club along with Ally McCoist during our troubles but, behind the scenes, the rest of the staff and the fans were absolutely brilliant.

â??They all deserve a medal for everything they put up with. The players will get one for winning the league but the staff and the fans should get one as well.

â??People have got to remember we have just started this journey. And while we will get back into the SPL, we need to make sure we compete with Celtic when we do.

â??That is a long way off and there is a long road to go. But. Iâ??m very positive, with the supporters behind us, we will get there.â?

[Steve1872 4]

SANDY JARDINE was part of Rangers’ famous European Cup Winner’s Cup triumph in Barcelona.

During a glittering career for club and country the defender played at a World Cup Finals and made over 500 appearances for the Ibrox men.

He also won a stack of domestic honours during 18 trophy-laden seasons with Rangers including two historic trebles in the seventies.

But the 64-year-old says leading a protest march of fans after the club’s descent into administration last year ranks as one of his proudest ever moments.

Jardine, who is battling liver and throat cancer, was the forefront of Rangers’ survival fight and became a fans’ figurehead as the club teetered on the brink in the wake of Craig Whyte’s wrecking spree.

[h=3]Rangers legend Sandy Jardine: I battled to save the club now I am battling to save my life[/h][h=3]Sandy Jardine's plea for fans to be patient with Ally[/h]He was in the front line as an 8000-strong group marched to Hampden in protest at the SFA sanctions they believed could kill off their stricken club.

Following administration it was the public show of strength that convinced the Ibrox ambassador Rangers would never die.

 

Sandy Jardine speaks to the fans at the protest against SFA sanctionsSNS Group

Jardine said: “I felt so much for all the workers at Ibrox because they were in a total state of shock after we went into administration.

“But given the incredible support the club has always had and its stature I was always

confident we would pull through.

“It really hit home to me that we’d be all right when we marched to Hampden back in April.

“The idea came from a group of young Rangers fans who arranged a committee on the Friday night and had the whole thing organised by the Saturday.

“To be honest it’s one of my proudest moments during my time at Ibrox – and I’ve been there, give or take a year or two since 1964.

 

Sandy celebrates a goal against Celtic in 1979SNS Group

“To lead that march was a tremendous feeling and I was honoured and privileged.

“There were around 8000 people in the march and the same number on the street supporting us.

“After that I had no qualms the club would survive with everybody behind us. Given the passion and the size of our support there was no doubt.

“Probably only Celtic fans, because they have the same backing and support, would understand and have an inkling about what we went through.”

Valentine’s Day will mark the one-year anniversary of Rangers going bust yet time has done little to heal the rift between the Glasgow giants and the footballing authorities. There is no love lost between Rangers and both the SPL and the SFA due to what Jardine believes was a total dereliction of duty from the Hampden beaks.

The Ibrox legend understands, to a degree, the ill-feeling from other clubs. Yet the perceived vindictiveness from the SFA is something he’ll never be able to get his head around.

He said: “I can understand why there was some negative feeling towards the club.

“If Rangers are successful most years and denying other clubs then supporters can get vitriolic.

“Maybe they seen this as a chance to get revenge and there’s no doubt some were vindictive.

“Even if you don’t happen to support Rangers you still have to understand they are a huge part of Scottish football.

“If you don’t have a successful Rangers you don’t have a successful Scottish football.

“You have to put your petty jealousies out of the way.

“There’s no doubt in my mind the SFA and SPL treated us abysmally. If you look down south at Portsmouth, they went into administration about the same time as Rangers.

“They were getting help from their FA but I don’t think one person from the authorities stepped forward to help us.

“To leave us hanging until the day before the season started before giving a licence and the associated constraints was out of order.

“The players, staff, manager and supporters did nothing wrong. We had one person who raped our club and we are paying the cost.”

Jardine has helped raise millions of pounds after launching the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund along with Walter Smith.

The money has been ploughed back into the club in an effort to replace the fortunes plundered by Whyte and his cohorts.

From the outset Jardine was suspicious of the controversial businessman and his motives.

He said: “It wasn’t a real surprise where the club was heading under Whyte because there were huge concerns before he came in.

“The old board had flagged them up and the way he immediately started to act quickly added to those concerns.

“He was so secretive and kept everything close to his chest.

“He decapitated the club by getting rid of all the directors and was running it himself. There were so many rumours flying about but it was difficult trying to get some proof of any wrongdoing.

“When he first arrived I went in to introduce myself and to tell him what I did.

“His body language after two minutes told me he wasn’t bloody interested.

“It left me feeling I shouldn’t have bothered my backside.

“I really sensed something was up when he was hawking about Nikica Jelavic in a desperate bid to get money in the January transfer window.

“It beggars belief that he was willing to sell him so cheaply at £5million when he was clearly worth double that.

“While it wasn’t completely unexpected it still came as a shock when it was announced we were going into administration.

“I became involved with the fans and the fighting fund because my

over-riding thought was just to make sure the club survived no matter what we had to go through.

“There were things that needed to be said and because I’d been at the club so long I felt it was my duty to step forward.

“I was prepared to do anything to save the club.”

Jardine feels Rangers are now heading in the right direction under Charles Green but he has already warned the new supremo he will have no hesitation speaking out if he senses all is not as it should be.

He added: “I really hope we now have the right people at the helm. I really do.

“However, as I said to Mr Green on the first day he came in. I told him I would get behind him, back him and support him as much as I possibly could.

“But I also said to him that if I seen him doing anything wrong then I would tell everybody.

“Obviously the fans and every person at the club are hugely apprehensive after everything that happened with Whyte.

“However, so far Charles has been good for Rangers and he has fought the corner of the club.

“In many ways he is voicing what the supporters feel.

“He has built up a good relationship with the fans and he tells it how it is.

“Things are now going well and hopefully they can continue in the same vein.”

[GovanAllan 0]

Daily f#*king Rhebel, why do we keep on shooting ourselves in the foot.

 

Apart from that nice words Sandy hope you get back to full health soon.

Edited February 8, 2013 by GovanAllan

[Steve1872 4]

SANDY JARDINE watched elderly people give up their pensions and kids go without pocket money in a desperate effort to keep Rangers float.

That’s why it left him sick to the pit of his stomach when he watched the millionaire stars they

idolised walk out on the club in their hour of need.

Allan McGregor, Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker, Jamie Ness and Kyle Lafferty were among a group players who opted not to transfer their contracts from oldco Rangers to newco.

As a result they could sign for anybody as a free agent while Rangers were denied any possible transfer fee.

Jardine believes their departures were the most saddening aspect of a truly depressing episode.

He said: “I think the players who left in the summer took advantage of the club.

“I’m quite vociferous in my criticism of them and that was a huge disappointment.

“Everybody was making sacrifices and I got to see first hand what they were over the past year.

“When we set up the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund there were people sending in their pension along with young kids sending in their pocket money.

“It was hugely saddening to see certain players take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain.

“I don’t have to name them because they know, and all the fans know as well, who they are.

“They denied the club of some desperately needed income.

“The fees from their transfers would have gone a long way to rebuilding the club.

“Given what we went through that was the most disappointing aspect of it all for me.”

Of course, nobody took advantage of a vulnerable club more than Craig Whyte.

And Jardine feels the only way to bring proper closure to the whole sorry saga is for the disgraced owner to be put behind bars.

He said: “Unfortunately these types of cases normally take a couple of years to process.

“I just hope that for what he did he pays the proper penalty and that goes for anybody else who was involved in any wrongdoing.

“I would hate to think they got away with that.”

[Davie P 4]

In absolute agreement with Sandy iro the vast majority of his comments. Love the comments about the traitors who deserted us in our time of need. He said: â??I think the players who left in the summer took advantage of the club.

 

â??Iâ??m quite vociferous in my criticism of them and that was a huge disappointment.

â??Everybody was making sacrifices and I got to see first hand what they were over the past year.

â??When we set up the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund there were people sending in their pension along with young kids sending in their pocket money.

â??It was hugely saddening to see certain players take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain.

â??I donâ??t have to name them because they know, and all the fans know as well, who they are.

 

I don't know if it is just a rumour or not, but I saw that McGregor is linked with a move in the summer to WBA for GBP4m. Rangers were the club who invested in him and developed him as a player, and for a club like Besiktas to benefit and we get nothing, is just wrong!

[blueflag 378]

good comments and love the guy to bits

but do wish it had been a different newspaper that got the interview..

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Guest Thermopylae]

Good article but "he's vowed to expose Craig Whyte if he ever steps out of line" is a strange comment ... I mean whyte liquidated us what more could he ever do in the future than that

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Good article but "he's vowed to expose Craig Whyte if he ever steps out of line" is a strange comment ... I mean whyte liquidated us what more could he ever do in the future than that

 

isnt it green hes talking about?

[ian1964 10,457]

good comments and love the guy to bits

but do wish it had been a different newspaper that got the interview..

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

Can't get my head round that!,one day we are being advised to boycott this rHag and the next day this appears?,unbelievable

[the gunslinger 3,366]

we weren't really told who to boycott were we?

 

the club probably still have a deal with the record.