Rangers new boy Brandon Barker will give his all to halt old boss Neil Lennon’s title bid

Brandon Barker was given a chance to develop his career by Neil Lennon.

But the winger will do all he can to stop his old boss leading Celtic to nine titles in a row.

A life in football often sees old allies go on to become enemies.

Barker has no ill-feeling towards Lennon. But he’s now a Rangers player and that means he’ll quickly become immersed in the great Glasgow rivalry.

It’s more intense than ever this term, as those in Light Blue fret over the prospect of Celtic moving towards a record-breaking 10 consecutive championships.

Neil Lennon was Hibs manager when he took Barker on loan from Manchester City in season 2017/18.

Although his spell was disrupted by injury, the 22-year-old’s blistering pace left a lasting impression on many an Easter Road supporter.

That quality has now persuaded Steven Gerrard to buy him from Manchester City.

The player has quickly realised he can’t escape talking about his relationship with the man now in charge at Parkhead.

Barker said: “Neil gave me an opportunity and I was grateful to Hibs for that.

“Now I am a Rangers player and I’m ready to give everything for them.

“I was here in Scotland for a year, and know what it takes.

“I think I became a man when I was up here first time round.

“There were ups and downs and I had an injury I had to deal with.

“But I learned about the Scottish game.

“People talk it down a lot, but there is nothing to talk down.

“It is getting better and better. I’m really excited to be a part of it again.”

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Does he accept that success will mean disappointment for his former manager?

“Yeah, definitely,” Barker went on. “This is my club, this is my home and I want the absolute best for Rangers.

“I want to establish myself here and I want the fans to remember who I am.

“When that game comes, we’ll see what happens.

“I don’t know of any interest from Celtic this time. I was in talks with quite a few clubs in the Championship.

“All of them were permanent deals, so I was going to find a home anyway.

“Rangers came in, Steven Gerrard phoned me and it was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down.

“Of the teams that did show interest, this was by far the biggest.

“I lost my way a bit going out on loan all the time.

“It is not easy to leave your family and to keep going to different places.

“I have been looking for an actual home, and now I have that.

“It is hard when you come to the end of the loan and you don’t know what will happen the following season.

“Now I’m a Rangers player and I can say that with a smile on my face.”

Barker believes he won’t wilt under the pressure that comes with being an Old Firm player.

He continued: “I’m from the culture where Manchester City are expected to win everything. I was a big part of that for about three years.

“You get to learn from the players who have that winning mentality.

“You try to learn from that as much as possible.

“I think the boys here also have that mentality, and our job is to win every single week.

“Hopefully, I can add to that.

“I learned a lot from Raheem Sterling, watching him grow from when he first arrived to what he’s doing now.

“We used to speak a lot and he was really encouraging.

“I’ve watched him become one of the great players in the world.

“The best advice is just to be yourself and never be afraid. I think that’s how I play.

“It doesn’t matter who I’m playing, I don’t have any fear.”

There’s intense competition for places in the role Barker prefers.

Jordan Jones, Jake Hastie, Sheyi Ojo and Greg Stewart can all operate in the wide areas.

It’s a position Steven Gerrard clearly feels is key to Rangers’ success.

He moved for Barker after failing in his attempts to get Ryan Kent back from Liverpool for a second spell.

The Englishman is determined to make an immediate impact – starting against East Fife in the Betfred Cup this afternoon.

He said: “I’ve had a pre-season. I’m a little bit lacking in match-fitness, but not too much.

“The boys have played a lot more minutes than me, so I want to get cracking on and straight in.

“Hopefully, that starts today.”