Derek Johnstone
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Derek Joseph Johnstone | ||
| Date of birth | 4 November 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender / Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1983 | Rangers | 350 | (131) |
| 1983–1985 | Chelsea | 4 | (0) |
| 1983 | → Dundee United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Rangers | 19 | (1) |
| 1986–1987 | Partick Thistle | 4 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1973–1979 | Scotland | 14 | (2) |
| 1973–1974 | Scottish League XI | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1986–1987 | Partick Thistle | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
Derek Joseph Johnstone (born 4 November 1953) is a former Scottish football player and manager.
Johnstone played mainly for Rangers during his career. He also had a spell at Chelsea and a brief stint in management with Partick Thistle. He mainly played as a striker but could also perform in central defence, and in midfield. Uniquely, he was selected to play in defence, midfield, and attack for Scotland.
Johnstone, a boyhood Dundee United supporter, 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 a few months later when his header secured a 1–0 victory over Celtic in the Scottish League Cup Final of 1970–71. Johnstone was sixteen at the time, but the faith shown in his ability by manager Willie Waddell paid off handsomely, as Rangers claimed their first trophy for almost five years.
Despite his heroics against Celtic, Johnstone found regular first-team outings in the number nine jersey hard to come by, largely due to the presence of Colin Stein, Scotland's first £100,000 player, although he did score eleven goals in sixteen 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 were injured, and when the duo were ruled out of the European Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1972, Johnstone, still only eighteen, 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 posts, Tam Forsyth was on hand to nudge the rebound over the line. The McLean-Johnstone combination that created this famous goal was a hallmark of Rangers' play in the 1970s.
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