Dave McPherson

David McPherson (born 28 January 1964, in Paisley) is a Scottish former international footballer who played as a defender, best known for his spells with Rangers and Heart of Midlothian, spending two periods with each club.

Career Early years at Rangers McPherson began at amateurs Gartcosh United before starting his professional career with boyhood favourites Rangers in 1980,

His impressive form ensured he achieved Under 21 recognition, as well as a place in the Rangers first team, by 1983; that year he scored four goals in one match against Malta's Valletta in the 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup, the first Rangers player to achieve that goalscoring feat in a European fixture. However, by their own high standards Rangers were enduring a mediocre spell, limiting McPherson's initial success at Ibrox to one league title in 1986–87 (his final season, in which he played in 42 of the league fixtures) and October 1984 (after the schedule was changed from a spring final to autumn). He missed the 1986 showpiece due to suspension. (as well as the 1994 Scottish Cup Final which was a rare defeat, McPherson partly culpable for Dundee United's winning goal), totalling 90 appearances over the two campaigns. having lost the 1996 Scottish Cup Final to the same opponents. He is ranked as 20th on Hearts' all-time appearances list (375 matches) despite only having spent half of his career with the club.

After leaving Tynecastle in the summer of 1999, McPherson wound down his playing career in Australia with Carlton S.C. in Melbourne, and back in Scotland with Greenock Morton, where he combined playing with a coaching role for one season in 2001–02 before concentrating on coaching.

International career McPherson was first selected to play for Scotland against Cyprus on 26 April 1989, a match Scotland won 2–1 at Hampden Park. Despite remaining a relative novice at international level, he was selected in the Scotland squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, appearing in all three group games as Scotland just missed qualification for the knockout stages. Despite his stature he was also quite an adept dribbler, and his sporadic runs from defence were renowned, particularly when playing as part of a three-man central defence with Hearts.

McPherson has since developed a career in sports management. He continues to follow the fortunes of his former teams closely and often comments on them in the media. He was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2014.

On 20 May 2018 McPherson was inducted into the Heart of Midlothian F.C. Hall of Fame, along with his team-mates from the 1998 Scottish Cup winning team, at a celebratory dinner held twenty years later.

Career statistics International Scotland national team YearAppsGoals 1989 3 0 1990 6 1991 6 1992 10 1993 2Total 27 0

Honours Rangers Scottish Premier Division: 1986–87, 1992–93, 1993–94 Scottish Cup: 1992–93 Runner-up: 1982–83, 1993–94 Scottish League Cup: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1992–93, 1993–94

Hearts Scottish Cup: 1997–98 Runner-up: 1995–96