David White's spell in charge of Rangers was short-lived, but his legacy was enduring.
Although he became the first manager at Ibrox not to win a trophy, he signed Colin Stein, Alex MacDonald and a young Derek Johnstone. All three went on to play significant roles when Rangers won the European Cup-Winners' Cup in 1972, three years after White had been sacked. Other managers directly contributed trophies to the club's roll of honour, but White still deserved to be remembered as an influential figure.
Walter Smith, the Rangers chairman, yesterday paid tribute to White, after his death at 80 following a brief illness. The team wore black armbands during their friendly against FC Gutersloh in Germany, out of respect to White and Jack Gillespie, the former vice-chairman who died at 87 last Tuesday. White remained the only Rangers manager not to win a trophy until Paul Le Guen's ill-fated tenure in 2006, but his contribution to the club was worth more than that distinction.
"We are all saddened by the news of Davie's passing," said Smith to the Rangers website. "I remember when he was appointed and he had such a difficult job not just because he was following Scot Symon but because Celtic were enjoying the best period in their history. Davie was also manager of Dundee when I was with Dundee United and, ironically, be brought the League Cup to Dens Park in 1973 by beating Celtic. He was a great Rangers man and scarcely missed a match at Ibrox."
White was a talented coach who could not defeat his circumstances. He joined Rangers as assistant to Symon in 1967, having impressed during his time in charge of Clyde. White travelled to Lisbon to watch Celtic defeat Internazionale in the European Cup final, and his relationship with Jock Stein was always based on respect (the Celtic manager had already recommended him for several jobs before White moved to Ibrox, and did so after he left), but White was unable to overcome the team that eventually won nine league titles in a row.
His own Rangers sides were often impressive, not least the team that lost only one league match in the 1967/68 season yet still lost out on the title by two points. White had been promoted after Symon was sacked in November 1967, with Rangers top of the league, so the demands of the role were not lost on him. He signed Jim Baxter for a second spell, even though some directors were not keen on the midfielder returning to Ibrox, but it has often been reported that there were fractious relationships with some members of the squad. His own take, in an interview with Herald Sport in 2009, was: "I could not care less about that. You are the manager and some people are not going to like you."
The capture of Stein was the most immediate impact White made, since the player scored hat tricks in his first two games after signing from Hibernian. MacDonald went on to become a vital performer, but struggled to adapt to life at Ibrox at first after arriving in 1968. "It was fantastic to join my club but I have to be honest and say that Davie didn't get the best out of me," MacDonald told the Rangers website. "I couldn't handle the pressure in the early days so I didn't give Davie the performances I was capable of, although I managed to overcome that. I'm very sad to hear the news about Davie especially coming so quickly after the news about Jack."
White did not wilt after leaving Ibrox, and even led Dundee to the League Cup in 1973 with a 1-0 victory over Stein's Celtic side. He remained committed to Rangers, though, and regularly attended matches in the directors box.
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