Connor Barron unconcerned about Aberdeen abuse, focused on Rangers success

Connor Barron knows his move from Aberdeen to Rangers won’t go down well with the Pittodrie faithful, but he insists he can cope with any abuse that comes his way. (Photo: PA)

Having grown up as an Aberdeen fan, like Connor Barron, he doesn’t have to turn to social media to gauge the reaction of Pittodrie’s loyal fans to his move to Rangers.

He knows full well that he will now be the igniter of the resentment his former fans feel for the Ibrox club, especially since another former Don, Ryan Jack, has already left the scene.

However, if the thought of fans being a part of his life and turning their backs on him bothers the 21-year-old, he does a good job of hiding it.

Barron was unveiled as a Rangers player yesterday and while he may now be a long way from his roots in the north-east, he looked right at home in the light blue shirt at his new club’s training ground in Auchenhowie.

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Time will tell if he can make it look easy and easy to get onto the pitch, but that’s where he’s focusing his energy rather than worrying about what people say about him in his hometown.

Barron may be able to brush aside the online abuse, but that will be unavoidable when he returns to Pittodrie with Rangers at the end of October. No matter how he gets treated, he says he has broad enough shoulders to handle it.

“Of course it’s going to take some time, but I’m just taking each game as it comes,” Barron said.

“I enjoy playing every football match so this will be no different.

“As a player, sometimes you have to do something for yourself and at the right time do what is best for your career.

“Thank you Aberdeen, they raised me from a boy into the player I am today. I thank them for everything they have done to help me get here in my career. As I said, this is the next chapter in my career at Rangers Football Club and I can’t wait to start playing.

“Honestly, I haven’t seen anything (online). All I do is focus on my work on the pitch. I don’t use social media or anything like that. This is not my job. My job is to go out on the pitch, perform and let my football speak for itself.

“It doesn’t bother me. Not at all. It doesn’t bother me. When you’re a club the size of Rangers, you can’t let that get into your head. If you do, that’s a problem.

“I’m a big character myself. I’ve been through a lot in my career so far and experienced a lot of things, and I want to bring more experiences to this club and I hope that the times ahead will be successful.

“My football speaks. My job is to be a Rangers player and be successful here and that’s it.

“I felt like this was the right place for me. I felt at home from day one and I can’t wait to get out there.”

One person Barron certainly couldn’t ignore if he had any trouble moving is his father, Graeme, who hails from Aberdeen, but thankfully his family are fully supportive of this latest step in his development as a footballer.

“My dad supports me every step of my career,” he said.

“He is my dad and my family is my family. They will support me wherever I go, and there is nothing more to it than that.”

So with this somewhat sensitive topic having been broached and left until the end of October, what can the Rangers support expect from their new recruit?

Obviously good on the ball and able to pass, but Barron will also hope to provide a goal-scoring threat from central midfield.

He hasn’t been able to provide that consistently throughout his Aberdeen career, despite some spectacular long-range strikes. His stunning effort against St Mirren last season, for example, was his only goal of the campaign. But it is already a focus of his early days working with Philippe Clement and his backroom staff.

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“I will be working closely with the staff every day in training to enhance my game,” he said.

“Sometimes in Aberdeen I’ve run into a couple and then the circumstances are different in terms of the team and the way we want to play. Coming to a team that plays very nice, fluid football should help me add that to my game.”

Ultimately, however, Barron realizes that whatever he achieves on a personal level will be meaningless if he cannot help Rangers achieve their collective goals, the most important of which has to be winning the league title after a disappointing end to last season.

But like so many other things in his life right now, he is not discouraged by the wait.

“I don’t think any player comes to Rangers who doesn’t want to win trophies,” he said.

“That’s what this club is about. If you don’t have that ambition, there’s no point in being here.

The ambition is to win trophies and if we don’t achieve that, we will be judged on that. That’s why every player comes here and that’s what the club expects.