David Templeton was at the Rangers Training Centre when Neil Lennon called with his own offer but joining Gers was 'no brainer'

David Templeton has revealed he knocked back a late offer to join boyhood heroes Celtic in favour of Rangers.

The former Hearts winger grew up in Glasgow supporting the Hoops. But when Neil Lennon tried to hijack his 2012 move from Tynecastle to Ibrox, Templeton admits there was only one choice despite his childhood leanings.

The Jambos picked up Templeton as a 16-year-old from Stenhousemuir and he progressed through the youth ranks in Gorgie to become one of their main men under Jim Jefferies. However, things went slightly sour under Paulo Sergio the following season and he was left out of the Scottish Cup Final team that destroyed city rivals Hibs 5-1 at Hampden.

Hearts had to cut costs massively the following season under John McGlynn and Templeton was one of the first names on the team sheet again. But despite two standout displays against Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool, which included a late goal at Anfield, the club were desperate to move the winger on before the transfer deadline in order to raise cash.

An offer from Ally McCoist's Rangers, who were then in League Two, couldn't be knocked back and Templeton was told he'd be frozen out if he opted to stay.

But while negotiations with Gers were ongoing, Celtic made their own move, although they wanted Templeton to sit tight and join them when his contract expired the following summer.

That was a non-starter as far as he was concerned, however.

“It came about on the last day of the August window, he told the STV Radio Football Podcast, “I was at Murray Park until about two in the morning trying to get it all sorted.

“What made it even weirder is that when I was sat outside, my agent got a phonecall from Neil Lennon about potentially wanting to go there. The full thing was bizarre. I think I’m allowed to speak about it? I’m not sure.

“They phoned and said they wanted me to wait out my contract then go to Celtic in the summer. I said ‘but what if I break my leg tomorrow? You wouldn’t sign me.’ So we had this discussion and it ended up that I went to Rangers.

I was also told by Hearts that if I didn’t sign for Rangers, I wouldn’t play for them again as they really needed the money. I was in a position where if I didn’t sign for Rangers I’d go back to Hearts and potentially not play, maybe other people don’t get paid because they were struggling financially.

“Of course, I was tempted Celtic were in Champions League at the time and they were in the top flight, Rangers had just went down.

“It was something that you did think about but I’d have had to stay at Hearts until the end of the season and Hearts were going through a difficult time.

“Obviously with Rangers, I went in and saw the facilities, the club and spoke to the manager and I knew how much I was wanted. It was a no-brainer.”

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources.

Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.

Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.

You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.

We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.