Ross McCausland (Irish: Rós Mac Ausaláin; born 12 May 2003) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and the Northern Ireland national team.[2]
.jpg) McCausland playing for Rangers in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 May 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Antrim, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rangers | ||
| Number | 45 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2018 | County Antrim | ||
| 2018–2019 | Linfield | ||
| 2019–2023 | Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022– | Rangers | 35 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Northern Ireland U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Northern Ireland U17 | 7 | (2) |
| 2021 | Northern Ireland U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2022– | Northern Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2023– | Northern Ireland | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:48, 03 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:38, 05 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editMcCausland joined the Rangers Academy from Northern Irish side Linfield in the summer of 2019 for £60,000.[3][4] In 2021, he signed a contract extension with the club running until 2024.[5]
Having been selected regularly for the club's B-team in the 2021–22 season (featuring in the UEFA Youth League as well as the Lowland League and Challenge Cup),[2] McCausland made his first team debut for Rangers on 14 May 2022, replacing Amad as a 61st-minute substitute during a 3–1 win over Heart of Midlothian; he set up fellow debutant Cole McKinnon for his first goal.[6] He continued to be a B-team player during the 2022–23 season[2] and made only one senior appearance, being used as a late substitute by manager Michael Beale in a league match away to Hibernian on 21 May 2023.[7]
After the sacking of Beale during the 2023–24 season, McCausland started to get a run of games under interim manager Steven Davis and then the new permanent manager Philippe Clement. On 5 October 2023, he made his first appearance against Cypriot side Aris Limassol in the UEFA Europa League, coming on as an 84th minute substitute for Scott Wright.[8]
McCausland impressed supporters with his performance off the bench against Hearts in October 2023; he was denied a first Rangers goal in a victory over Livingston in a Scottish Premiership fixture, with the strike ruled out for a foul by Abdallah Sima in the build-up.[9]
McCausland signed a new four-year contract with Rangers on 28 November 2023 and was promoted to the first-team squad permanently.[10] Two days later he celebrated with a first goal for the club against Aris Limassol, after coming in as a first half substitute for Todd Cantwell.[11] On 17 December, McCausland started in the Scottish League Cup final against Aberdeen, and won his first trophy when Rangers captain James Tavernier scored the only goal of the match.[12]
McCausland scored his first Premiership goal against Kilmarnock on 2 January 2024, but a run of starting appearances ended when he was injured by a tackle from Motherwell defender Dan Casey on 2 March, causing him to miss several fixtures; when he returned to fitness he was again among the substitutes. He was nominated for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award,[13] but lost out to David Watson of Kilmarnock.[14]
McCausland scored his first goal of the season 2024-25 against St Johnstone in the Scottish League Cup, with the assist coming from team mate Cyriel Dessers.[15]
International career
editMcCausland played regularly for Northern Ireland as a youth internationalist. On 14 November 2023, he received his first call-up to the Northern Ireland senior team for a round of UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches.[16] Three days later he made his debut against Finland, starting in a 4–0 defeat.[17]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 29 October 2024[2]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers B | 2019–20[18] | — | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22[19] | — | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2022–23[20] | — | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2023–24[21] | — | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||||||
| Rangers | 2021–22[19] | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[20] | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[21] | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 1 | — | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25[22] | Scottish Premiership | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4[c] | 1 | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| Total | 37 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | 53 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 37 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 63 | 7 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
editRangers
References
edit- ^ https://www.irishfa.com/ifa-international/squads/northern-ireland-senior-men/ross-mccausland
- ^ a b c d Ross McCausland at Soccerway
- ^ "Four Players Join Academy". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Ross McCausland set for Rangers contract talks in bid to fend off transfer interest". Football Scotland. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ "ROSS MCCAUSLAND SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Heart of Midlothian 1-3 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ "Hibernian 1-3 Rangers". BBC Sport. 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Aris Limassol 2-1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 5 October 2023.
- ^ O'Neill, George (12 November 2023). "Livingston 0-2 Rangers". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Ross McCausland signs new Rangers contract". Rangers FC. rangers.co.uk. 28 November 2023.
- ^ Campbell, Andy (30 November 2023). "Rangers 1-1 Aris Limassol". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Rangers 1-0 Aberdeen". BBC. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Alan Pattullo (4 May 2024). "PFA Scotland wonderkids can be 2034 World Cup stars as young player award marks 10 years since Andy Robertson". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Lawrence Shankland, David Watson & Rangers trio win PFA awards". BBC Sport. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Rangers vs St Johnstone". BBC News.
- ^ "Ross McCausland receives first Northern Ireland call-up for Euro double-header". Belfast Telegraph. 14 November 2023.
- ^ "Finland 4-0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Ross McCausland in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Games played by Ross McCausland in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Games played by Ross McCausland in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Games played by Ross McCausland in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Ross McCausland in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
External links
edit- Ross McCausland at Soccerbase