Kirk Broadfoot - "I just hope that one day the real story will come out."

[ian1964 10,514]

THE tiny town of Wath-Upon-Dearne isn’t exactly awash with autograph hunters.

 

It’s sleepy South Yorkshire. More Emmerdale than Edinburgh.

 

Which is probably why the football club’s centre-half can stroll into a local coffee shop completely untroubled.

 

Rotherham United’s training ground is only five minutes along the road.

 

But Kirk Broadfoot could work behind the bar at The Woolpack for all anyone knows around these parts.

 

And that suits him. After stints in Paisley, Glasgow and Blackpool, the Scots defender enjoys the anonymity.

 

But as he sips a skinny latte, in 
keeping with his new, leaner physique, there’s still something gnawing away at him. Sure, what anyone really thinks of Broadfoot as a player or person in Wath barely even registers.

 

But what is the perception of him wider afield?

 

"I just hope that one day the real story will come out."

 

After all, Broadfoot received a record 10-game ban from the English FA in July for verbally abusing ex-Wigan player James McClean on the pitch.

 

He was accused of sectarianism. A crime that landed him with a heftier suspension than Luis Suarez copped for racist remarks against Patrice Evra four years ago.

 

To this day, Broadfoot is still stunned at the outcome of the “investigation”.

 

He vehemently denies that he’s a bigot. But the 31-year-old is unable to convey his side of the story in public for fear of the ban being repeated.

 

In that sense, living the quiet life in Wath with his wife Jennifer and kids Kole and Indie has been a godsend.

 

Broadfoot admits he’d quit football tomorrow for the sake of his family.

 

But, having recently returned to 
the Rotherham squad, the McClean incident still rankles with him.

 

 

The Republic of Ireland winger has regularly flirted with controversy. His refusal to wear a poppy on his Wigan shirt in 2014 was roundly criticised. Last summer, Tony Pulis, the manager of current club West Brom, had words with him when he failed to face an English flag before a pre-season game in America.

 

Even a fortnight ago, McClean prompted a post-match melee against Sunderland when he riled opposition supporters at full-time.

 

But the incident with Broadfoot back in March has left a stain on the former Rangers player’s reputation.

 

Thankfully for him, he’s had the 
support of those closest to him. Most notably, ex-gaffer – and lifelong Celtic fan – Steve Evans backed the Scot to the hilt.

 

Speaking for the first time about the repercussions of the ban, Broadfoot told MailSport: “I worry what people might think of me because it will 
probably be the worst.

 

“But I just hope that one day the real story will come out.

 

 

“The truth will eventually emerge, even if it’s when I stop playing. Will I then feel vindicated and hope 
people see me in a proper light? Yeah, probably.

 

“I’ve had huge support, especially from Steve who is a massive Celtic fan.

 

“He knows what happened that day. The club have been good with me, they backed me from day one. The chief executive, my family and friends, I’ve had a lot of support.

 

“But knowing Steve was behind me was important. He said straight away that he was backing me. He said I’d been great for him and that he knew what had actually happened. That was a boost because, after getting a ban like that, it could have been different.

 

“Am I worried that clubs might not take a chance on me in the future because of it? It depends on the people at that club. But if they meet me, see what type of guy I am, I’m sure they wouldn’t have 
a problem.

 

 

“Sometimes people will have a perception of a player before they even talk to them.

 

“Down in Rotherham, there isn’t much 
spotlight. I just train and then take my kids to soft play or swimming.

 

“It might be different if I picked up a 10-game ban in Glasgow. But it’s not like that here.

 

“I’ve had to get my head around it. But I’ve always been a mentally strong person. You need that when you play for either Rangers or Celtic. It’s hard for me to speak about the incident because I could get banned again.

 

“But it’s a concern that my reputation as a player and as a person has been tarnished. Because of the ban, there might be a negative perception of me.”

 

Broadfoot is a different guy to the one who left Ibrox back in 2012.

 

He believes he has matured on
 and off the pitch after that five-year spell with his boyhood heroes.

 

 

After reaching a European final, playing in the Champions League and scoring for 
Scotland he should 
have gone on to achieve more than Championship stints at Blackpool and Rotherham. But he said: “I do still have ambitions. Of course, I’d have loved a crack at the Premier League but it wasn’t to be and I don’t think I’ll ever play there now.

 

“But I tested myself against the best players in Europe with Rangers at Champions League level.

 

“My outlook has changed now that I have a young family. Everything changes when you have kids. My life revolves around them. Decisions on where to move, before I sign anywhere, will be to suit Jennifer, Kole and Indie.

 

“If I had to quit football tomorrow to help my family, I’d do it. If Jennifer isn’t happy and wants to go home, I’ll do that too. Even if I don’t have a team in Scotland.

 

“Having children has changed me as a person. I’m not as selfish any more. Now it’s all about them. I play football for my family now.

 

“Maybe I was a bit daft when I was at Rangers but I’m a completely different player to the one that left Scotland. It’s night and day. I appreciate my body more and how to look after myself, in terms of diet and fitness.

 

“At Rangers, I trained too hard. I was so desperate to do well and stay in that team. But because of that I picked up injuries. I was over-training.

 

“I’m a better player now because I’m older, more mature and I read the game more from centre-back.”

 

Under Walter Smith and then Ally McCoist, he rarely got the chance to operate at the heart of Gers’ backline.

 

Often used at full-back, Broadfoot feels he didn’t get to show fans what he was fully capable of. 
But you won’t hear him complain – he’s one of a tiny band of Rangers players to have been involved in a European final for the club, in the 2008 UEFA Cup.

 

He said: “I’ve got no regrets. When I look back on everything I achieved at Rangers, it seems like it flew by. Manchester in 2008 was the highlight but we had a big game every two days at that point.

 

“I played every minute of every game in the build-up to the UEFA Cup Final. To do that in my first season at Rangers was amazing. That’s what dreams are made of.

 

 

“The only disappointment was not beating Zenit and lifting the trophy. We could have had a quadruple that season. But I wouldn’t have changed anything at Rangers.

 

“I loved my time there. I won four trophies and played in the UEFA Cup Final. So what’s the point in regrets?

 

“The foot injury I had, which kept me out for nine months, was probably the low point. I played in the 2009 League Cup Final against Celtic while I was injured. I got sent off and we lost. It was stupid and made the injury worse.

 

“But who doesn’t want to play against Celtic in a cup final as a Rangers fan?

 

“When the club eventually went into administration, I had no intention of leaving. I was a young boy living his dream. I had earlier opportunities 
to go to England but turned down 
Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich because I wanted to stay.

 

“Eventually, when Blackpool came in, I thought I should give England a go. I only have one career, after all.”

 

 

HE was a huge fan of Mark Warburton last season while he was Brentford boss.

 

And that’s why Kirk 
Broadfoot is convinced he’s the right man for Rangers this term as his old club target Premiership promotion.

 

The Rotherham defender faced Warburton’s side in the English Championship and was impressed. So he’s delighted that his boyhood heroes have put faith in the 
Englishman to take them to the top of the Scottish game.

 

He said: “I always want Rangers to do well because I’m a fan. I want to see them back where they belong, at the top of the Premiership and playing in Europe.

 

“Those are the special nights at Ibrox. It’s sad to see what has happened to them in the last few years.

 

“But Warburton is the right man to take them back to the top. I played Brentford last season and it’s a mirror image of how Rangers are playing.

 

“It’s good, attractive 
football. They have a great guy beside Mark in Davie Weir. He knows the club inside out.

 

“Rangers are in good 
hands now.”

 

 

KIRK BROADFOOT feels his Scotland career is over – but insists he’d never say no to Gordon Strachan.

 

The Rotherham stopper has earned four caps and scored in a World Cup qualifier against Iceland in 2008.

 

While other Championship stars are regularly picked for Scotland, Broadfoot isn’t holding his breath for a call.

 

But he’d never turn down the chance to pull on the dark blue again and revealed he could yet be back playing in his homeland next season.

 

He said: “I’d never say no to Scotland. I’m 31 now and maybe Gordon is going for a younger generation – he has centre-backs in the Premier League and Championship.

 

“They’re good players and I think my international career is over. But I’d never say no.

 

“I’ve played for my country and scored. I’ve represented the club I always supported in Rangers and the country where I was born. That’s not too bad. I’m happy with that.

 

“I’m fitter than I was at 25. I want to play for as long as I can. I’d love to come home and play in Scotland. That will be sooner rather than later.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/exclusive-former-rangers-star-kirk-6742256

[Rousseau 9,654]

I liked big kirk. Never the most talented of players but gave his all for the jersey.

[ranger_syntax 3,877]

In that sense, living the quiet life in Wath with his wife Jennifer and kids Kole and Indie has been a godsend.

 

Surely a greater crime than anything he might have said to McClean.

[Bearman 9]

He vehemently denies that he’s a bigot. But the 31-year-old is unable to convey his side of the story in public for fear of the ban being repeated.

But I just hope that one day the real story will come out

Maybe I was a bit daft when I was at Rangers but I’m a completely different player to the one that left Scotland.

 

What's he going on about?

[BrahimHemdani 1]

He did a great job for us at RB, pushing Whittaker into midfield and as he says, rarely got a chance in his natural CB position; but where have we heard that before.

 

All the best to him.