Daily Record uncovers the tragic tale as Jimmy Bell’s legacy is stripped bare

Amid the turmoil going on at Ibrox the Daily Record has highlighted the stripping down of an iconic part of both clubs.

Jimmy Bell served loyally as kit man and bus driver, collecting a variety of memorabilia from stars such as Paul Gascoigne, Fernando Rickson, Brian Laudrup, Ally McCoist and Barry Ferguson.

The legendary bus driver was tasked with introducing new signings to the traditions and culture of Ibrox and is credited with introducing a portrait of the English monarch to the home dressing room at Ibrox.

Steven Gerrard looked bemused as he was shown around the inner sanctum, it’s acknowledged that Bell wasn’t a big fan of Maurice Johnston or Kevin Kyle.

Over the years Bell build up a mountain of old shirts, boots, pennants, flags and scarves with Jim McAllister of Morton brought in as his assistant shortly before his death in 2022. McAllister lasted less than a year as Head Kitman.

According to the Record McAllister fell victim of James Bisgrove (boo hiss) with the kitman successfully claiming Unfair Dismissal at a Tribunal that went uncontested.

Last summer Micky Beale insisted that new signings visited Bell’s Gloryhole but it appears that over the last 15 months his widow has emptied the place of decades of tradition.

In a highly emotional piece in the Daily Record Scott McDermott writes:

It was a meeting point. A talking shop for players, coaches and staff alike. It was where new signings were brought as their first port of call. An induction centre. The hub, where anyone who didn’t know what the club was about quickly found out. They had no choice. The smell of history, prestige and success filled their nostrils as soon as they walked through the door. Whether they were from Aberdeen or Argentina, they were indoctrinated. This little area was a part of the Rangers fabric.

Now? Unless anything has been pinned up recently, it consists of four plain, white walls. It hasn’t just been rid of its artefacts. Its very essence has been emptied. That whiff of nostalgia has been replaced by a stench of neglect. This place is Jimmy Bell’s old kit-room at Auchenhowie. What used to be a Rangers treasure trove is now like any other kit-room.

Bereft and devoid of any sort of tradition. It used to be part of the inner sanctum. The legendary kitman’s pride and joy, created over the course of decades of service. Yet as we speak, the stuff that made it so special is lying in a garage. Jimmy’s widow, Janice, removed it – such was her disappointment and disgust at the club’s treatment of her late husband’s successor.

As well as appointing a Chairman, CEO, Director of Football Operations and Academy Director it seems that the 2012 Tribute Act also has to restore the Kit Room to its former glory.

Coverage of McAllister’s Unfair Dismissal Tribunal is very limited with just one article on the award of £13,000 covered in the Daily Record.