McMillan moves for football
Friday, 3rd Feb 2012"A big part of coming was the gaffer; I am going to be playing for someone who wants me here, it is as simple as that.
Jordan McMillan feels that he can bring versatility to Dunfermline:-
"I can play in numerous positions and I think the Manager likes that because we do not have a big squad. I have a will to win, we are in a dog fight just now and I would like to class myself as one who can win.
"I have been looking to move on from Rangers and this has given me the opportunity to go and play for a manager who has wanted to sign me for a while. That made the decision easier."
Jordan had been disappointed that even with injuries in the right back position at Rangers that he had not been given the chance to show what he can do.
"They put Kyle Bartley in at right back, he is a good player but I thought that if I was going to be third choice and they were going to put someone else in front of me, the time had come for me to move on.
"I enjoyed my game against Motherwell and I would have liked to have kicked on from there but it never happened and it is in the past now. I want to move on with Dunfermline."
The 23 year old thought that it might have been hard to leave Ibrox but with it being for football reasons and with Jim McIntyre's encouragement he was sure that he had made the right decision:-
"He was fantastic with me and told me what he thought of me as a player. That made my mind up. I know it is a big thing to leave Rangers but I needed to do it for football."
Even as a lifetime Rangers fan Jordan's friends and family all gave him the same advice - go and play at Dunfermline. He had enjoyed the regular games when out on loan to Queen of the South and the guidance under Gordon Chisholm, Kenny Brannigan and Billy Dodds. They had wanted him to play and do well and that is Jordan's ambition at Dunfermline:-
"The best spell I had was at Queen of the South and when I went back to Rangers I signed a new deal. When that happened I thought that I could go back and do well but it didn't pan out that way and that's just football. I am big enough to take that on the chin. I have been in the game a long time and have had a good grounding. I have learned a lot and I hope I bring that to Dunfermline."
The Glasgow born defender did not relish accepting a new three year deal at Rangers only to sit on the bench for some of the best days of his football career:-
"I maybe wouldn't have played again and that would have been me 26. That was no good to me, I am a footballer and I want to be playing football. A lot of people sit there and take the money but I am not one of those people, especially with the way the club was struggling for money. I took the opportunity to leave."
Jim McIntyre had previously enquired about Jordan but as the transfer window was about to close it became apparent that Rangers were willing to let the player go:-
"It all went very quickly and when I spoke to the manager here, he assured me that I would come here and be part of his plans." Even faced with the choice of clubs to join south of the border Jordan has no fears that he is pitched straight into a relegation battle. He did not take the decision lightly and admitted to changing his mind three or four times:-
"I like to think of myself as a bit of a scrapper when the chips are down and things are up against us. That doesn't matter to me at all. A big part of coming was the gaffer; I am going to be playing for someone who wants me here, it is as simple as that. This is purely down to football, I could have stayed at Rangers, plugged on but wasted my time. I am here to play and hopefully stay in this league."
One of the first matches that Jordan will play as a Dunfermline player will be against his former club but he claims that he will probably find it more difficult to play against Celtic:-
"I have always wanted to play against Celtic. I have trained with the boys at Rangers day in day out so I know what they are all about; it will be emotional with them being my friends but when you cross that white line there are no friends."
Jordan was reminded that Andy Dowie was a great example of someone whose career had advanced after leaving Rangers:-
"I was only a kid when Andy was about the first team at Rangers but he was really well thought of as the next big thing. He moved on and is obviously doing well, I see that as a plus. There is life after Rangers even though it is hard to leave the surroundings of Murray Park to come to a lesser club."
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