Tom Lawrence is almost as far away from Ibrox as physically possible, in Perth, Australia. But even on the other side of the world, the 32-year-old is recognised as much by Rangers fans as those of new side, Perth Glory. And, as he explains his plans to watch tomorrow's Old Firm game, the Welshman isn’t exactly trying to escape it.
“It’s funny, actually. The guy who manages my golf club is a Rangers fan,” Lawrence tells the Rangers Review. “He asked me to go around and watch [the Old Firm], so I think I’ll do that and hopefully watch the Rangers win. It’s funny because I can speak about it as a fan now, instead of a player.”
“Perth is full of Rangers fans – I’ve been so surprised at how many are here. Once you’ve played for them, you can’t escape it,” he adds with a smile.
Speaking from the sunny west coast – it’s a cool 30 degrees late in the afternoon as he talks exclusively to the Rangers Review – Lawrence recognises he’s “still processing” three years at Ibrox. And little wonder.
Signed during Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s tenure, Lawrence would go on to play for Michael Beale, Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson. Alongside his own tumultuous injury spell in his maiden campaign, Lawrence brings a unique, honest vantage point, having been inside the club during periods of crisis and change, as well as some notable highs.
Cast your mind back. It’s August 2022 and Van Bronckhorst’s Rangers have stunned Europe by defeating PSV to reach the Champions League for the first time in over a decade. Months on from Seville, optimism is high, even if the troubling undercurrent of the Dutchman’s league form bubbles under the surface.
Who could have foreseen what would have ensued? Van Bronckhorst was sacked by November as his side trailed Celtic by nine points and sporting director Ross Wilson had joined Nottingham Forest by the following March. Three successive Celtic titles would be matched by the number of managers at Ibrox in intervening years.
For Lawrence, things had started so well. The Welshman missed part of pre-season in the summer of 2022 before scoring in a home draw with PSV and excelling in midfield during a famous 1-0 win in Eindhoven. Having grown up in Manchester, his expectation of the pressures of playing in Glasgow had him well prepared for a start where he seemed unfazed by the demands of the shirt.
Lawrence, arriving at the peak of his career, appeared mentally ready to compete at Rangers. And his quality, as shown in those PSV games, was obvious.
Goals against Hibs and St Johnstone domestically helped build an early expectation that Rangers had an answer to a long-standing issue: a goal threat in midfield.
“Once I heard that Rangers were interested, I went to Glasgow, had a look around the training ground. I had Rangers, a few Championship clubs, and a few clubs abroad, so it was just about determining what I wanted in my career. When I met everyone at Rangers, I thought ‘This is the club for me’,” he says.
A ‘perfect’ start against PSV followed: “I don’t think anyone [externally] thought we'd win that game, to go through and make the Champions League. It had been such a long time since we’d been in it.”
And then everything changed. After an impressive display against Ross County, Lawrence stayed down on the Ibrox surface at the full-time whistle. The initial prognosis was five weeks out with a knee issue. Little did the former Derby man know then that it would be over a year before his next start at Ibrox.
“It was the last kick of the game against Ross County. I had done my knee at that point, so it wasn’t too bad. It was like a five-week injury, which happens; it’s part of football,” he reflects.
“Obviously, we were in the Champions League, so we kind of accelerated [the rehab] and I felt good all the way through. I think it was my first or second training session back with the lads. I just felt something. I thought it was my calf at the time, but it ended up being my Achilles.
“It was just a nightmare from then on in there. What should have been probably a four-month injury turned into a 10-month injury. It was so frustrating on my behalf because the season started so well.”
Having started four of Rangers’ first five league games and both Champions League qualifiers, it wouldn’t be until September 2023, over a year later, that the attacking midfielder made a league start. It was 15 months, in November 2023, before Lawrence started back-to-back league matches.
Lawrence continues: “It was more frustrating than anything. Obviously, at the start, we made the Champions League. It was my chance to play in the Champions League, which probably hurt the most.
“It’s difficult, but like I say, there are good people throughout the club. They help you. The rehab process didn’t go the way we wanted it to. We thought we wouldn’t have to have surgery, and we had to have surgery in the end. So it was difficult, very difficult.”
Although only able to contribute for a short period under Van Bronckhorst and Beale, Lawrence saw firsthand how Rangers got themselves into the unwelcome cycle of annually sacking managers.
Lawrence cites John Lundstram, Ryan Kent, Malik Tillman and Steve Davis as evidence of the quality the club carried in that first season. The campaign ended trophyless, though, and his own involvement was heavily limited until the end of 2023.
It wasn’t until the start of 2024 that injury abated and a regular run in the team arrived – nearly 18 months into his three-year deal.
“I got on really well with Gio. I thought he was a great manager. He was one that you could speak to, even as a senior player. I think all of us found that,” Lawrence says, of the manager he first worked with in Glasgow.
“Why didn’t it work? It’s such a hard question. I thought we were actually doing all right. I didn’t think we were doing too badly. Obviously, when you draw a few in the league, it’s never good, is it, when you’re at Rangers? I think things start to get on top.
“We've qualified for the Champions League, so everyone thought we were going to start like a house on fire, I suppose. But the league just turned a little bit difficult in ways where we couldn’t find out the results we should have. I still think it was too early to sack him.”
Life with Beale was largely spent on the treatment table but under Philippe Clement, Lawrence saw himself thrust back to the forefront of plans. He scored a memorable equaliser under the Belgian during a 2-1 win at Rugby Park in February 2024 that meant Clement had won 18 of his first 20 league games at Rangers, taking them to the top of the table. And then, after the March international break, the wheels came off a title charge.
Lawrence posits: “When Philippe came in, I think we had a good run. We went on an unbelievable run. I can’t fault him for when he came in. He brought his own methods of the game.
“[Then], I think it was the time when someone left higher up in the club, so he had to do more jobs than he should have, shall we say.
“I don’t know, it kind of just started unravelling from there, I think. That’s what it felt like as a player at the time. But like you say, we still had a chance to win the league that season.”
Clement spoke of things falling onto his desk that “no manager should have to deal with” at one point in the months following CEO James Bisgrove's departure, in the April of 2024, and after chairman John Bennett stood down that autumn.
Later, Clement said he’d felt “alone in the desert” as he assumed the jobs of those above him in the food chain who’d left Ibrox. Rangers started the 2024 season playing at Hampden due to delayed Ibrox works after the failed title bid and, perhaps predictably with the benefit of hindsight, Clement’s cool decision-making and communication deteriorated until his sacking in February 2025.
Lawrence adds on how that workload impacted Clement: “I think at the time you don’t really realise it, but obviously when you look back at your time now, you think ‘It was probably a bit much’, do you know what I mean?
“I always compare it to when Ross Wilson left. I thought he was tremendous at helping everyone throughout the team. He was top.”
Wilson, now sporting director at Newcastle United, was the man who brought Lawrence to Ibrox before leaving early into the Michael Beale era. Rangers have chopped and changed executive structures since but, from Lawrence’s point of view, Wilson’s presence behind the scenes was missed.
Lawrence adds, “I had a great relationship with Ross. I think when I saw how much of a relationship he had with everyone, he was like the heartbeat of the club, in some sense. And when that goes, it’s obviously a big void to fill. Ross had worked with everyone for years before that. So yeah, it’s always a difficult one, obviously. You have to build relationships in all clubs to ultimately [achieve] success, I think.”
For Lawrence, it will take him time to fully take in his time at Ibrox. Last season already feels like “10 years ago” given the change that has taken place – from another managerial departure in Russell Martin to the US takeover.
That goal against PSV - when the keeper "chucked one in" he says, with a hint of self-deprecation - is often brought up by fans he meets now. A header away at Benfica and that strike at Kilmarnock also stand out in his bank of memories.
Look away, 'keepers! 🙈
Tom Lawrence benefits from a huge mistake from Walter Benítez!
What a break for Rangers at Ibrox!#UCL pic.twitter.com/LrV43WrZxO— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 16, 2022
The Welshman’s focus at the moment is on Perth Glory and challenging for the Australian title next season, but, as aforementioned, he’s hardly switched off from events back in Glasgow. John Souttar remains one of his closest friends in football and plenty of the current dressing room remain in touch.
Asked if the pressures of the city surprised him, he said: “It’s hard to answer. I kind of expected it, just because I’ve lived in England most of my life and watched Old Firms.
“I’ve got a few friends who are Rangers fans and whatnot. I was told it was just like playing for Man United in Manchester, which is actually where I’d lived. So I kind of expected it in that sense. But you never quite know until you’re there and you feel it, but I enjoyed that.”
A US takeover hasn’t been plain sailing, although lessons from a harsh start to the season have quickly been learned. Few would disagree that Rangers are on the right path under Danny Rohl. The question is, will time run out before they can catch those ahead of them in the table?
He adds, “Yeah, I think there was a lot of excitement around the club [at news of the takeover], because, like you say, when you get something new in a club, it felt like the time was probably right. I think that felt for the fans as well, that [the new owners] were going to come in and probably spend some money and get the club back on track.
“But it’s so difficult in football, because you never know how that’s actually going to go. And I think, obviously, at the start of the season, the new manager they brought in didn’t quite work. But now it’s so good to see that they’ve picked up and they’ve got a right chance of winning the league this year. From afar, obviously, knowing a lot of people in the club, it’s a pleasure to see at the minute. I hope they can do it.
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“I am still watching. Obviously, I’ve still got mates at the club. It’s hard, though, to keep up with them because [of the time difference]. Sometimes you wake up and you’re like ‘f*****g hell, they drew’. And you see Celtic have lost, Rangers have drawn, Hearts have won.”
Lawrence, and the other Perth Rangers taking in Sunday’s game at his golf club, will hope only positive expletives are required this weekend.
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