3/1 To Win
Derby County midfielder Graeme Shinnie sat down for an exclusive interview in the July edition of The Rampage.
The 11th edition of the Rams’ 100-page monthly magazine is set for release on Thursday 8th July and is packed full of club-centric content.
Head Groundsman Paul Thompson discussed the work that goes in to renovating the Pride Park pitch in the offseason and the difficulties faced through the pandemic, while we caught up with fans who discussed what they have missed most about being at the Rams’ stadium and how they have supported from afar.
RamsTV presenter Owen Bradley enlisted the help of hair experts to take a closer look at some of the Rams’ hairstyles over the years, while there is also an indepth preview of the 2021/22 Sky Bet Championship season.
Last season’s Jack Stamps Player of the Season, Shinnie discussed his incredible personal journey since starting professional football and the adversity he has battled to get to where he is today.
Here is an extract of the piece that you can read exclusively in The Rampage from Thursday…
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For Shinnie, football is all he has ever known. It was ingrained to him by his older brother, Andrew, initially. An up-and-coming star himself, Andrew did what any older brother usually does and regularly told Graeme to go in goal whilst he practised his shooting.
“We used to have a car park at the back of our house and we always used to play with our garden fence as the goals,” Shinnie remembered. “That was where we used to play football all the time and he used to put me in goal. Up until I was about eight or nine years old, I always wanted to be a goalkeeper. I played a few games when I was younger as a goalkeeper - I could have been a mad goalkeeper to be fair - but outfield was always going to be my position.
“My brother was a massive influence on me. He left school at 16 to go full time at Rangers. I was 13 or 14 at the time and I watched him play full time at Murray Park - the training ground at Rangers - seeing him progress in games and it gave me the urge to do it myself. I was a late developer, football wise. I joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Under-17s level, which is late, but having each other initially definitely developed us.”
With two boys in the family, Shinnie’s parents knew to expect fights and squabbles. That’s exactly what they got, too. Anybody who has two boys as children will probably tell you the same. And playing football out of the back of the house was always going to be a dangerous game.
“My mum used to go mad every time the ball went over the fence and into the garden,” Shinnie laughed. “We smashed a few shed windows, which didn’t go down too well!”
For the full article and other exclusive content, CLICK HERE to purchase your copy of The Rampage.
