Nacho Novo was recently the victim of a tirade of threatening abuse as he arrived at Belfast International Airport, the incident was recorded by the perpetrator himself, Daire Smyth from Downpatrick, and published online. I started by asking the Rangers legend how he felt about the incident.
“A disgrace. It is hard to take when these things happen, however I am well used to it as it has happened to me so many times. He is not a sensible person, but I won’t let anyone disrespect me. There has been a lot of coverage over incidents involving Neil Lennon, maybe not so much when it happens to a current or former Rangers player.”
He continued “I met Neil Lennon a few times at charity events and other things, and he is fine, a nice person. No player or manager whether Rangers or Celtic should be subjected to abuse and threats.”
Prior to the incident a number of Celtic fans posed for photos with the Ibrox legend, these are genuine football fans with whom he enjoys the banter. On them he said “they were nice boys, proper football supporters. I had banter with them and they had banter back, it wasn’t nasty or threatening.”
In Monday’s Belfast Telegraph Smyth offered a half-hearted apology for the incident, however Novo has rejected this saying “I don’t accept his so-called apology. He has only given it because of the bad attention he brought on himself. He is sorry about the negative press he brought onto himself, not sorry for what he done.”
Nacho continued “he wanted a reaction, he was acting a big man in front of mates and trying to look tough on the internet. He was never going to get a reaction from me because he isn’t a sensible person, but at the same time I am not going to run away from anyone, especially a bully like this man. He doesn’t scare me.”
The purpose of the trip was to visit East Belfast Football Club’s growing youth development set up, and the ex-professional had nothing but praise for the club. He said “They are doing a great job, I was really pleased to attend. It is amazing what they have done with the young kids, they do not get enough credit for this. I know many people in East Belfast and I know they have spent a lot of time with the kids trying to build them up and set them on a path to professional football, but most importantly they are taking the kids of the streets.”
He also had a word of praise for local football talent saying “there is lots of great football talent in Northern Ireland. It is how they are coached that matters and I think a lot of that talent could go far in professional football with the right coaching.”
Nacho Novo makes no secret of his love for Glasgow Rangers, he describes it as simply “the best club in the world”. He thinks the glory days will soon return to Ibrox under Steven Gerrard, and he lavished praised upon the Liverpool legend.
“I think he will be a phenomenal manager. I spoke to Stevie earlier in the week. He is a quiet lad and he knows it is going to go slowly, success won’t come overnight. But Steven Gerrard is a winner, and that is what I like about him. He is absolutely a winner and nothing else will do. He is a legend as a footballer player and I have no doubt he will be a legend as a manager at Rangers.”
After many years living the dream as a Rangers player, Novo admitted he finds it difficult to replace those magical moments. When asked to highlight one, he says there are too many to mention, but specifically talks about the UEFA Cup semi final and Scottish Cup Final. You can sense this is a man who continues to pine for involvement at the highest level of the game.
“It is difficult to replace the buzz of being a professional player, I feel very low now. Football was my life, and especially after my heart attack it is more difficult. Football is all I know and am going to try and keep playing in some way. I am a winner, and I want to win, and I will always push myself too hard, so I have to be careful with my health. I miss it, it was the greatest time of my life playing for the greatest football club in the world.”
Whilst he claims his days as a professional player are most likely over, he does not rule out a managerial or coaching role. He twice applied for the Glentoran job but was rejected on both occassions. He doesn’t feel he was treated well by the board of the club.
He told Unionist Voice “I applied two times for Glentoran but wasn’t successful. They weren’t professional in how they treated me I believe. I believe it is a great club and that a professional ex player would have delivered success to the club. They didn’t treat me well when I applied for the job.”
Despite the set-back, the Ibrox legend remains upbeat and positive about the future.
“I will keep looking for avenues into the game that I love. I will always be a Rangers man and I will always love the club. It is the greatest football club in the world.”
Since you’re here…… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Unionist Voice than ever but unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. The Unionist Voice is editorially independent, meaning we set our own agenda. Our journalism is free from commercial bias. No one edits our Editor. No one steers our opinion. This is important because it enables us to give a voice to the voiceless, challenge the powerful and hold them to account. It’s what makes us different to so many others in the media, at a time when factual, honest reporting is critical. f everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as £1, you can support the Unionist Voice– and it only takes a minute. Thank you. |
Thanks for the terrific post
Thanks for the wonderful post
It works really well for me
I spent a great deal of time to locate something such
as this
Thanks, it is quite informative
I enjoy the article
Thanks for the wonderful post
I spent a great deal of time to locate something similar to this
Thanks for the excellent article
I spent a great deal of time to locate something such as this
Thanks, it’s quite informative
I like the article
I spent a great deal of time to find something such
as this
Thanks for the great article
It works very well for me
Thanks to the terrific manual
Thanks, it is very informative
Thanks, it is very informative
Thanks to the terrific manual
It works really well for me
I spent a great deal of time to locate something like this
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
Likely I am likely to save your blog post. 🙂
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your content seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon. Thanks
great points altogether, you simply gained a emblem new reader. What may you recommend in regards to your publish that you just made some days in the past? Any positive?
very interesting post, i actually like this web site, carry on it
Emotional attention, self-control, approval, adhere to, patience but also security. These are typically among the issues that Tang Soo Can do, most of the Thai martial art attached to self defense purposes, can show buyers plus instilling in your soul the means not just to maintain with your own eyes on the competency on the very first real danger stains to cure confrontation all in all.
Some truly grand work on behalf of the owner of this site, utterly outstanding content material.
Hello. Great job. I did not expect this. This is a impressive story. Thanks!
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!
Good blog! I really love how it is simple on my eyes and the data are well written. I’m wondering how I might be notified when a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your RSS feed which must do the trick! Have a nice day!
It is best to take part in a contest for top-of-the-line blogs on the web. I’ll recommend this website!
My brother suggested I would possibly like this web site.
He was entirely right. This put up truly made my day.
You cann’t consider simply how so much time I had
spent for this info! Thanks!
Nice read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he just bought me lunch since I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
Hey would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
I was recommended this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty. You are incredible! Thanks!
I’m very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.
you’re really a good webmaster. The web site loading speed is amazing. It seems that you are doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you have done a great job on this topic!
Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with?
I’m looking to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a hard time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique.
P.S Sorry for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
I think everything typed made a bunch of sense. However, what
about this? suppose you were to create a killer post title?
I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website,
but what if you added something to possibly grab people’s attention? I mean EXCLUSIVE: Rangers legend Nacho Novo speaks to
Unionist Voice | Unionist Voice is a little vanilla.
You ought to peek at Yahoo’s front page and note how
they create news headlines to get people interested. You might try adding a video
or a related pic or two to grab readers excited about everything’ve written. Just my opinion, it might
bring your blog a little livelier.
Great post. I will be going through many of these issues as well..
This is my first time go to see at here and i am in fact pleassant to read everthing at single place.
I relish, lead to I found just what I was having a look for. You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
As I web-site possessor I believe the content material here is rattling great , appreciate it for your efforts. You should keep it up forever! Best of luck.
Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to
the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html
coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
Would you be desirous about exchanging hyperlinks?
I want to express my thanks to the writer just for bailing me out of this crisis. After scouting throughout the internet and obtaining tricks which were not helpful, I believed my entire life was over. Being alive without the presence of answers to the problems you’ve sorted out by way of this short article is a serious case, and ones which might have in a negative way damaged my career if I hadn’t encountered your website. The understanding and kindness in taking care of all the stuff was very useful. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had not discovered such a stuff like this. I’m able to at this point look ahead to my future. Thanks a lot so much for this impressive and sensible help. I will not think twice to propose your web blog to any person who desires direction about this topic.
My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!
Hey are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I feel this is among the such a lot important information for me. And i’m satisfied studying your article. However want to remark on some normal issues, The site style is great, the articles is actually great : D. Excellent process, cheers
you are actually a excellent webmaster. The web site loading pace is amazing. It sort of feels that you are doing any distinctive trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece. you have done a excellent task in this matter!
Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
This is certainly a awesome write-up. Thanks for bothering to describe all of this out for us. It is a great help!
Perfectly composed articles , thankyou for information. 🙂
I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. This type of clever work and reporting! Keep up the very good works guys I’ve you guys to blogroll.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my weblog thus i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find
things to improve my website!I suppose its ok to use
a few of your ideas!!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on minecraft secret free download.
Regards
I haven’t checked in here for some time because I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂