Jim McAllister was ‘devastated’ by being shown the door, but he was welcomed ‘home’ this weekend.
Kitman Jim McAllister was distraught when Rangers fired him in 2023, and he had no ambitions to return to Ibrox anytime soon.
However, he was recognized for the first time this weekend and received a hero’s welcome by Leon Balogun, who informed him that he had been’missed’. McAllister, who succeeded Jimmy Bell after the renowned kitman’s tragic death, was let go by the club last year under James Bisgrove’s leadership.
It all got a little ugly – Record Sport understands it went to an employment tribunal, where the Ibrox club was found in breach of contract and it was ruled a ‘unfair dismissal’. As a result, they were compelled to pay McAllister, who is currently working with Steven Gerrard in Saudi Arabia, over £13,000. We discovered that McAllister was ‘devastated’ by his departure, and as of October this year, he had no plans to return.
After McAllister’s departure, Bell’s widow, Janice, was disappointed and disgusted by how the man who replaced her late husband was handled, and she stripped the Ibrox kit room of historic relics that still belonged to the man who gave the club a lifetime of service. And it’s one of the more severe indictments of Bisgrove’s legacy, as he left for Saudi Arabia not long after McAllister was empty.
McAllister, on the other hand, returned to Ibrox for Rangers’ match against Hearts this weekend. Balogun, who knew him well from his earlier stay at the club, announced his comeback on Instagram. He posted a photo of the two together and said, “Great to have you back home last night, you are missed.”
McAllister, a lifelong Ibrox fan who spent the majority of his career in the lower leagues with Morton, Dundee, and Hamilton, returned for a visit, maybe aided by the forthcoming international break. Now under Gerrard’s employ at Al-Ettifaq, they signed off for the break with a 3-1 defeat to Al-Hilal on Friday, and don’t have a game now until November 24, giving him the window for a trip.
Kitman Jim McAllister was devastated when Rangers sacked him in 2023 – and had no plans to return to Ibrox any time soon. But he was spotted back for the first time this weekend and got a hero’s welcome from Leon Balogun, who told him he’s been ‘missed’. McAllister, the man who took over from Jimmy Bell after the iconic kitman’s sad passing, was let go by the club under James Bisgrove’s leadership last year.
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