Inverness Caley Thistle manager Karen Mason excited for reunion with Rachel McLauchlan ahead of Scotland star's Highland homecoming with Rangers
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Scotland international footballer Rachel McLauchlan is coming home to the Highlands this weekend, as she prepares to take on former club Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Women’s Scottish Cup with current club Rangers.
Kicking off on Sunday at 1pm at the Caledonian Stadium, it will be a nice moment for McLauchlan, who broke into senior football with Inverness before they took on the Caley Thistle branding.
Since leaving Inverness City, as they were then known, for Aberdeen in 2014, McLauchlan has won numerous trophies while playing for Hibernian and Glasgow City, earned 23 caps for Scotland and continued to be successful at club level as a full-time professional with Rangers.
While an exciting prospect for Avoch native, it will also be a full-circle moment for those at ICT who remember her years ago.
“I guess for her it’s a bit of a homecoming back to where it all started,” Caley Jags manager Karen Mason reasoned.
“That’s nice, because Rachel is obviously one player we’ve all followed through her football career to see where she has managed to get to.
“When I first came in, Rachel was a player we didn’t want to lose but we all knew she was going on to bigger and better things.
“I spoke to her at the time to say Aberdeen had come calling, ask if she was interested and if so let’s get it happening. Look at her now!
“She was definitely always talented enough, and dedicated too – which you need from this neck of the woods.
“That’s what separated her from the rest. We’re all very proud of what she has achieved, and it will be nice to see her back.
“It will be nice to show the girls that someone from this neck of the woods can go on and have an international career, and play for one of Scotland’s top clubs as well.
“It’s definitely a good eye-opener I think for some of them, and Rachel is very much an idol for a lot of the girls in the youth academy.
“Even some of the girls in our first team squad look up to her for what she has achieved, so it will be nice to see her again if she is fit and playing and it will be great to have her back home.”
