How Vladimir Weiss became instant Rangers cult hero after Celtic snub as he defied Parkhead legend

There is one surefire way to endear yourself to the Rangers fans before kicking a ball and that’s to snub Celtic before putting pen to paper at Ibrox.

It might have taken Maurice Johnston a little longer to win over the Light Blues support when he went down that road but having previously played for the Hoops his case was a bit different.

Think Nacho Novo, though, who held talks with Martin O’Neill after Dundee accepted bids from both Old Firm clubs for the striker only for the Spaniard to sign for Alex McLeish.

That move didn’t work out badly for Novo and it certainly boosted his status as a favourite among the Rangers fans.

And as Novo was heading for the Ibrox exit, another player coming through the door also snubbed Hoops interest to sign for Rangers.

Vladimir Weiss might not have enjoyed the kind of career Novo did at Rangers but he still picked up a couple of winners medals from his season on loan at Ibrox.

Yet it was Celtic who were first linked with the player and it was thought his close friendship with Lubomir Moravcik might help swing the deal for the player who Manchester City were sending out on loan.

Neil Lennon, a team-mate of Moravcik, was then in charge at Parkhead but he still opted for the blue half of Glasgow.

Some players don’t have to spend long at a club to form a strong bond with the fans and that’s the case with Weiss who was a real favourite.

And the 32-year-old is the latest in our Scottish football’s culture heroes series as we look at some of the players who won the hearts of the fans.

How did he end up Scotland?

The winger started out at Manchester City but the English giants were looking to farm him out on loan.

He had previously had a spell at north west rivals Bolton Wanderers but