Derek Johnstone

Club

Rangers

Johnstone signed for Rangers as a schoolboy in 1968. He turned professional in 1970 and made his debut on 19 September 1970, aged 16 years and 319 days. Johnstone scored two goals in that match, a 5–0 victory against Cowdenbeath. Johnstone thrust himself into the limelight just five weeks later when his header secured a 1–0 victory over Celtic in the 1970 Scottish League Cup Final. Johnstone was still 16 at the time, but the faith shown in his ability by manager Willie Waddell paid off handsomely, as Rangers claimed their first major trophy for just over four years. Despite his heroics against Celtic, Johnstone found regular first-team outings in the number '9' jersey hard to come by, largely due to the presence of Colin Stein, Scotland's first £100,000 player, although he did score 11 goals in 16 league appearances during the 1971–72 season. He compensated for his lack of frontline action by often playing as a centre-back when either Ronnie McKinnon or Colin Jackson was injured, and when the duo were ruled out of the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, Johnstone (still only 18) deputised in the match against Dynamo Moscow. Johnstone soon became a regular in the starting line-up, and he picked up a Scottish Cup winners' medal in 1973 when Rangers defeated Celtic 3–2 at Hampden Park. Johnstone played a huge role in the winning goal, rising above the Celtic defence to head a Tommy McLean free-kick towards goal, and when his header struck both…

Johnstone had a short spell as player-manager of Partick Thistle during the 1986–87 season, before leaving professional football in 1987.

Since leaving Partick Thistle, Johnstone has worked in the football media, including for BBC Scotland, Scottish Television, Radio Clyde, GO Radio and Real Radio Scotland, where he co-presented the station's football phone-in until the end of the 2011–12 season. He also co-commentates on Rangers matches for the club's TV channel.

Club

International appearances

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.