A debut for Brian Reid #OTD 3️⃣3️⃣ years ago as Rangers earned a hard fought victory at Dunfermline’s East End Park.
Back-to-back encounters with Celtic had resulted in the side being further disrupted by injury and suspension and so Graeme Souness would enter into the transfer market for one final time as Rangers Manager. His last ever Rangers signing was Morton’s promising 20 year old central defender, Brian Reid, for a reported fee of £300,000.
Brian had been catching the eye of a number of top sides throughout the UK and his performances for 1st Division Morton against (eventual winners) Motherwell in the Scottish Cup Quarter-Finals may well have been the catalyst to convince Souness to swoop (Morton were eliminated on penalty kicks having forced a replay).
A slim and elegant ball playing defender, Brian had been likened in style to the former Liverpool player Alan Hansen which was a major compliment indeed. Certainly, Souness showed confidence in Brian by throwing him straight into the side for the trip to Dunfermline. With Aberdeen having clawed back the gap to only 3 points with 7 games remaining, Rangers were now in a real battle to retain the title. Despite losing Ian Ferguson to a red card, Rangers showed their battling qualities to secure a narrow win and Reid received plenty of plaudits for his performance in difficult circumstances.
Brian would retain his place in the next two premier league matches against Hibernian and St.Johnstone at Ibrox. Whilst the Hibernian match would end in a disappointing goalless draw, it did mark the return of Ian Durrant who made a first team appearance for the first time in almost 30 months. The home support were thrilled when Durrant netted in a 3-0 win against St.Johnstone the following week but Brian was unfortunate to be red carded. It was a significant match in that it transpired to be the final time Graeme Souness took charge, he would join Liverpool shortly after. With just a two point advantage and 4 games to play, incoming boss Walter Smith would rally the side to clinch a final day win over Aberdeen but Brian would not feature.
Hoping to cement a first team place for the start of season 1991/92, disaster struck in pre-season when he suffered a serious knee injury during a testimonial at St.Mirren Park for Saints goalkeeper Campbell Money. A cruciate ligament injury would end his season before it had even begun.
Despite returning from injury, he was limited to just two appearances in the Treble Winning side of 1992/93 with both coming after the league had been secured. Notably bulkier in physique on his return from injury, the sharpness he had shown in those initial days seemed to have somewhat deserted him.
Similar to Oleg Kuznetsov (who was signed earlier in season 1990/91), what appeared to be a promising career at Ibrox lying in waiting was abruptly halted by injury and neither player ever fully recovered. It seemed to be a recurring theme in the 1990’s.
A change in formation by Walter Smith at the start of season 1995/96 saw Brian make a surprise return to the starting line up for the crucial Champions League Qualifier with Anorthosis Famagusta at Ibrox. On a tense night in which Paul Gascoigne made his competitive debut, it was a switch that did not work out and Brian was substituted at half time before Rangers managed to make the breakthrough. It would prove to be Brian’s final appearance for the Club.
Brian returned to Morton and played for several other Scottish sides as well as enjoying a stint in England with Burnley and Blackpool. He has managed several Clubs with his latest spell in charge of Albion Rovers coming to an in 2023 having been badly interrupted by the pandemic.

by Rick Plews