STEVEN NAISMITH insists he has been proved RIGHT

[ian1964 10,431]

STEVEN NAISMITH insists he has been proved RIGHT after he chose not to transfer to Charles Greenâ??s control.

 

Scotland ace Naisy was among several stars to quit Rangers last summer after the club was liquidated and reformed.

 

He was blasted by a number of Gers fans for joining Everton, but insists Greenâ??s exit as chief executive backs up his decision.

 

Naismith, 26, said: â??Mr Green worked hard to try and discredit the players who left. He publicly attacked myself and the others who chose not to accept his offer.

 

â??But time seems to be offering a clearer perspective on why players like myself chose not to sign over the control of their careers to this man.

 

â??I wonder how many people today, knowing what they know, would think it a good idea to just sign away the best years of their career to Mr Green?â?

 

European employment law gave players the power to decide whether to join the Rangers newco after the old club folded.

 

Yet Green was chasing the stars who quit, including the likes of Kyle Lafferty and Steven Whittaker, for money he felt was owed to Gers.

 

Green resigned after SunSport revealed his links to disgraced former owner Craig Whyte.

 

Naismith added: â??I had a legal right to do what I did, and that right is a central feature of European employment law which protects the worker in situations like Mr Green engineered last year.

 

â??When Mr Green sent a lawyerâ??s letter telling me to TUPE over to Sevco, as Charles Green called it, I had never met him.

 

â??To this day I have still never met him and I have no wish to do so. Mr Green appeared from nowhere and claimed Whyte had just accepted he had no other option than to let Green have his way.

 

â??It seemed strange and unclear then and still does to today.

 

â??This was the proposition we were offered to turn our football careers and futures over to.

 

â??I had the option of choosing to be employed by a man and owners who I didnâ??t know and had little reason, if any, to trust.

 

â??I made a decision that most people thinking matters through rationally would come to in the interests of their family and career.â?

 

Boyhood Gers fan Naisy hopes the club can finally find some stability now Green has gone.

 

But he fears it might be a while before Gers are restored to their former glories while some of those in power remain.

 

Naismith added: â??The spirit of Rangers carries on and Iâ??m delighted it does. I hope that will always be the case.

 

â??However there is also a harsh reality the majority of Rangers is owned by a group of companies and individuals very few people in the Rangers support know or, at this stage, trust.

 

â??Everyone who supports Rangers must wonder what is coming next. So many false idols have emerged and let down the hopes and dreams of the fans.

 

â??I hope the club can come into the hands of people Rangers fans can trust to enable the club to prosper and return to the standards people expect.

 

â??I will always wish Rangers the very best. I grew up a Rangers fan and always will be a Rangers fan.

 

â??But Iâ??m also a professional sportsman. This is my job and how I pay my mortgage and provide for my family.

 

â??Last summer I had an obligation to my family to act in our best interests.

 

â??I suspect I would still be at Rangers if Mr Whyte and Mr Green had never appeared. But they did and the rest is history.

 

â??Iâ??m proud of my contribution to Rangers and the part I played in delivering trophies and league titles.

 

â??I take pride in the fact I was one of the first players to agree to give up 75 per cent of my wages to try and save the original Rangers.

 

â??Iâ??m proud I argued with the administrators a clause should be inserted to protect the employment of the staff at Murray Park and Ibrox before we agreed to take the cut.

 

â??Iâ??d grown very close to many of the people who worked at Rangers and I made sure it was a condition of any agreement their jobs had to be saved.â?

[Bluedell 5,351]

It's pathetic that he's trying to use the current issues to try and justify his decision to leave. He has gone down in my estimation far more by doing this than his original decision to leave.

[Cotter 0]

Do you want a spade Stevie?

[foggy dewhurst 0]

not done so well at goosison then boy , dont come back

[Zappa 0]

It's pathetic that he's trying to use the current issues to try and justify his decision to leave. He has gone down in my estimation far more by doing this than his original decision to leave.

 

His refusal to accept that it's the same club annoys me even more. I couldn't believe some of things he said in that departure press conference with Whittaker last year and put it down to a mixture of extremely poor advice from PFA Scotland and a bit of stupidity on Naismith's part. Now though, reading these comments here, it looks like he's either just being stubborn about it or he's just as thick as shit.

[Gribz 743]

chose not to sign over the control of their careers to this man

 

You were signing it over for the CLUB not just this 'man'.

 

I had never met him

 

Once again we apologise that the CEO didnt come knocking on your important door.

 

Do one Naismith. Of all the players that left he makes my blood boil the most.

[bluebear54 0]

I'm sure he still logs in to FF. Would imagine he'll get the message.

He did really well out of us.

I would like to think he regrets how he treated us, but I doubt it.

[blueflag 378]

wankstain

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[stewarty 1,877]

He doesn't get it, does he?

 

He should focus on getting a game for his new club because we're not interested in anything he has to say.

[der Berliner 3,276]

... neat timing for such an interview too.

 

While the football fan in my would like to see players like him back at the club, the Rangers fan in me says no. Nothing would have prevented him from doing a Goian, a Bocanegra, or a Davis. Someone whispered about EPL and money into his ear and the loyalty to the club went with it. These people should better just shut up and keep quite ... hiding their shame from the world.