Rangers fan John Irwin thought he was a goner in search for 9-in-a-row stars

A RANGERS fan who travelled the world meeting every living player from the club’s nine-in-a-row era is to be invited on to the pitch at a packed Ibrox.

It’s a dream come true for John Irwin, whose unique challenge took him to places such as Dubai, Arizona and Tel Aviv over a seven-year period.

There were 86 men, including the late Davie Cooper, who played for Rangers during the 1988 to 1997 glory years and John tracked them down to sign his favourite Rangers shirt.

Now the 66-year-old, who is about to release a book about his adventures, will show off the strip to his fellow bluenoses at the club’s next home game against Hearts on May 13.

John said: “This was my ultimate dream, to be able to walk on to the park holding the completed strip aloft in front of the supporters.

“For me and hundreds of thousands of fellow fans, we can only imagine what it must be like to walk down the tunnel and into a sold-out stadium.

“To now have the opportunity to do it is amazing. I have goosebumps just thinking about it and I’m very grateful to Rangers for inviting me.”

John, a former professional nail thrower, began his epic autograph hunt in 2009 shortly after moving back to Glasgow after decades down south.

“I wanted a hobby to keep busy and thought I’d try to gather some signatures.

“When I realised the first few I had were all nine-in-a-row players, I decided to try to track them all down – not realising how difficult it would be.”

On a minuscule budget, John travelled tens of thousands of miles around the globe.

“I sold unwanted items from friends and family at car boot sales and auctioned off football memorabilia to pay for the trips,” John said.

“My nephew, Andy, also paid for a few of the journeys.”

His favourite trip was to Israel, where he met ’keeper Bonni Ginzburg. The worst experience was his first trip to Ukraine, where he met Alexei Mikhailichenko.

“My family wasn’t too happy about me going to Israel due to the conflict, but I loved it. The security was extremely tight, , but the people were friendly and I loved wandering the streets and through the huge market area.

“Unfortunately my first Ukraine trip was a disaster from beginning to end. The worst part was sitting in the back of an unofficial taxi for an hour while being driven into the woods in the dead of night.

“I thought I was a goner but thankfully it all worked out in the end – just!”

The Bear Hunter: Searching For Rangers’ Nine-In-A-Row Heroes, documents all of John’s moments of joy and despair. It will be released on May 9 by Pitch Publishing and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.