IT was the gamble that changed Mark Warburton’s life. It was one that Graham Simpson had no qualms about taking.

A decade has passed since the businessman welcomed Warburton on board at Watford but he has kept a close eye on the 54-year-old’s career since.

The story of how Warburton gave up his job in the City to pursue his dreams in football is well told and it was Simpson that helped him write one of the first chapters.

He would spend a couple of years in the Hornets Academy and work under the man who is now on the other side of the Old Firm divide.

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Warburton will go head-to-head with Brendan Rodgers for the second time at Hampden on Sunday and former Watford chairman Simpson is pleased to see him follow the Northern Irishman’s lead by making a name for himself as a manager in his own right.

“It is extraordinary that they have ended up in Glasgow at the same time,” he told SportTimes.

“When I was chairman, we had some great people come through. We had the likes of Sean Dyche, who has done an amazing job at Burnley, Malky Mackay and Ray Lewington.

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“I don’t know Mark well but I did talk to him and brought him to the club when Aidy Boothroyd was the manager.

“He was an usual candidate because he had been successful in the City and was now making his way in football again.

“He was a very capable man who had made his money and decided he wanted to return to his first love. I remember meeting him and being very impressed with him.

“Football is his passion and what he wanted to do. He was very thoughtful and while I was there at Watford he did very well with our youth team.

“He was really bringing the players on and when I left I was sad to see that it didn’t carry on.

“Mark then moved to Brentford and did very well there. He is obviously a man of principle because he left Brentford when he didn’t feel it was the right club for him at that time.

“He is an intelligent man, very capable and he is his own man and I admire that as well.”

Simpson may only have spent a short time at Vicarage Road with Warburton and Rodgers but both men are surely thankful for the opportunity they received in Hertfordshire.

While Rodgers moved on to Reading to continue his coaching career, Warburton’s big break came at Brentford as he enjoyed success in Academy and first team roles with the Bees.

He would lift the Championship title and Petrofac Training Cup in his first season in Scottish football and travel company chief Simpson reckons his leap of faith has proven to be a shrewd one as the Englishman strives for improvement at Ibrox this term.

He said: “You have to look at the people you have around you. I was at Watford for seven years and we had a very good team of people.

“I don’t profess to know a great deal about football. I didn’t grow up in it but I have a passion for it.

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“You listen to the people around you and you trust them. Everyone spoke very highly of Mark and said that he had a lot of ability.

“I gave him a try and that is what I have always done in football and business. I didn’t appoint Mark but I oversaw the process.

“I have followed his and Brendan’s careers to see where they end up but we don’t keep in touch that often.

“I have got a special affinity with Brendan because I gave him his first break. I am pleased for him and I wish him all the best, as I do with Mark.”