Robby McCrorie 'ingrained' in Kilmarnock ahead of reunion with Rangers
Derek McInnes revealed that the goalke
Robby McCrorie is ‘ingrained’ in Kilmarnock with the goalkeeper doing all that he can to ensure that he wins the fight to be No.1 at the club.
The 26-year-old was given the nod by Derek McInnes between the sticks for the 3-2 win at Dundee before the international break. Kieran O’Hara had been in since Motherwell away in mid-August due to a combination of a hip knock for McCrorie, and his decent form.
McCrorie – fresh from being involved in the Scotland squad – had a mixed game at Dens, and will this weekend face his former club Rangers.
After a near 20-year association with his boyhood heroes, McCrorie prioritised his career and his burning desire to become a first pick at another club.
McInnes believes he has all of the attributes to do just that before kicking on, as the Killie boss acknowledged it’s a big game for the keeper.
“I think any time you play against your old club, obviously his association with Rangers was long,” McInnes said. “He signed there at seven or eight years of age, so it’s a huge part of his life.
“But there’s life after for players when they leave Rangers and he’s trying to build his career.
“Obviously he wants to try and become a regular playing with us, which, in turn, will hopefully help him get involved with the international set-up as he got brought into.
“Robby just needs to knuckle down and play games, there’s no doubt that first time you play against a club you’ve had a long association with, there can be a bit of emotion in it.
“But I think the professional part of it is you’re there to do a job and I’m sure that come the game he’ll be desperate just to put in a good performance.
“I think everybody at Rangers recognised Robby was a good goalkeeper, the way we do.
“He never got the opportunity to be No.1 there, there were some good keepers ahead of him, so there’s no shame in that.
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“But he comes here now and he’s got a fight to play on our team. And if he wins that fight he’s got an opportunity to go and put some games under his belt and try and show what everybody believes he is as a good goalkeeper.
“I think he carries himself well. I’m first in here, me and the kitman in the mornings, but Robby’s the first player in every morning.
“He’s ingrained, he’s got a routine, he knows what he needs to do Monday to Friday to try and be ready.
“The problem he had in the majority of his career has been Monday to Friday, he didn’t always have a game at the weekend.
"So it's an adjustment for him now to try and be ready to play all the time.