Maurice Ross is that rarest of breeds, a Scot who prefers to play his football abroad. While countless foreigners have frequented these parts down the years, precious few natives have headed in the other direction, a contrast that mystifies the Aberdeen full-back. He gained so much from spells in Norway and Turkey that, when his short-term contract expires on January 24, he hopes to be reaching for the passport again.
Aberdeen would be wise not to feel insulted. Ross cannot thank them enough for giving him the chance to revive his ailing career, and he will do his utmost to repay them for as long as he is at Pittodrie, but if the interest he is said to be attracting from one or two foreign clubs manifests itself in the shape of an offer, the adventurer in him will find it difficult to resist. “I would rather not play in Britain,” the 28-year-old says. “I feel like I’ve done enough of that.”
Ross, whose team visit Celtic Park today in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, spent five years at Rangers before his career stalled in short stints with Sheffield Wednesday, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Millwall. From there, he sought a fresh start with Viking Stavanger, and later Kocaelispor, both of whom broadened his horizons.
“Going to Norway kind of broke me in,” he says. “There is not really much difference there because everybody speaks English and the style of football is similar to Britain’s. If it hadn’t been for Norway, I might not have had the confidence to adapt to the lifestyle in Turkey. I’m not saying everybody should go and jump ship to Egypt or whatever. And I certainly wouldn’t advise it to a 20-year-old. But if you are 28, it is an eye-opening experience.”
As an old friend of his is about to discover. Mark Fotheringham, the former Celtic player on a short-term deal with Dundee United, will join Anorthosis Famagusta, of Turkey, in the new year. “That is a great move,” Ross says. “They are a Champions League club. Ten years ago, the Scottish game was flooded with foreigners, who came here because they wanted to better their careers. Mark and I are no different. If Scots players get the opportunity, they should definitely try it. Why not?”
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Were it not for his incurable wanderlust, Ross would be content to remain at Aberdeen, for whom he signed in October after several months without a club. Their manager, Mark McGhee, showed faith in him when others didn’t, and is hoping that the player can be persuaded to extend his contract. “You never know,” Ross says. “There has been interest from abroad, but it will only mean something when a piece of paper is put in front of me. And it will have to be right for me. I’m already at a cracking club, so I’ll not be leaving here for just anyone.”
By his own admission, Ross is a long way from the brash, bolshy youth who won two league titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups with Rangers. He did well at Ibrox, but he took success for granted, and lacked the hunger for more. Only in recent years has he learnt to be professional, look after his body and dedicate himself to the trade.
“I was fearless when I was 21. I just had this attitude that I was the best full-back on the park, and that nobody was going to beat me. It was that arrogance you have when you are a young boy. I’m more level-headed now, a bit more centred, and at the risk of sounding all hippy about it, a lot more appreciative of everything.”
It has taken him a while though. An athletic, modern full-back who likes to get forward, the Dundonian is one of many players who have not adapted quickly to life after the Old Firm. Steven Pressley, for example, finished his career on a high, but he was slow to find his level after an Ibrox apprenticeship. “Leaving Rangers can take a bit of adjusting to. You are not playing with as good players, and the style of football is different. When I was with Rangers, I only really played in the opponents’ half. I hardly knew what it was to defend.”
At what should have been the peak of his career, Ross is disappointed not to have achieved more, but he feels like he is in the ascendancy again, convinced that maturity will bring out the best in him. At Celtic Park today, where he will be given the usual abuse dished out to former Rangers players, there is just a chance that he and his Aberdeen team could pull off a remarkable Old Firm double. Last weekend, they beat Rangers 1-0 at Pittodrie, a result that had critics of the Glasgow clubs sharpening their knives.
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The gap between the Old Firm and the rest has narrowed since Ross last played in Scotland, but the culture is the same as ever. “What hasn’t changed is the way everything is sensationalised. Before I left, they complained that the Old Firm were too good, that there wasn’t enough competition, that it was boring. Now they are complaining that Rangers and Celtic aren’t good enough. We’re never happy.”