ANDREI KANCHELSKIS was one of the biggest names that Dick Advocaat brought to Ibrox as he splashed the cash when money was no object for Rangers.

But the winger wouldn’t make the same impact in Glasgow as some of his multi-million pound compatriots as he entertained and frustrated during his four years with the Gers.

In part two of a serialisation of his autobiography, ‘Russian Winters’, Kanchelskis relives his Old Firm experiences, remembers his better times in Light Blue and recalls his Ibrox exit.

Read more: Andrei Kanchelskis relives the Old Firm atmosphere and Rangers' title party at Parkhead

ON 21 April 2001, a decade after I flew from Donetsk to Manchester to sign for Alex Ferguson, I played my last game at Old Trafford.

It was a strange derby. Manchester United had just won the championship with five games to spare while City were third-bottom, five points from safety, having played one match more than the two teams above us. They were top of the heap, we were going down.

We actually drew 1–1 but the game is now only remembered for one incident: Roy Keane’s wild, premeditated tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland.

We didn’t know it then but this was Keane’s punishment on Haaland for suggesting he was play-acting when he had torn his cruciate ligaments against Leeds four years before. Keane had a long memory – at the time we just thought he had gone crazy. He didn’t even wait for the red card.

That was my final game for Manchester City. They were relegated, Royle was sacked and I returned to Glasgow Rangers.

I was 32 now but Celtic, under Martin O’Neill, had won the Scottish Premier League by fifteen points and, if Rangers were serious about winning it back in 2001/02, I felt I had a lot to offer.

Rangers felt differently. I spent a lot of time on the bench and I didn’t start a game until the 2–2 draw at Hearts on 8 September, six games into the season.

Read more: Former Rangers winger Andrei Kanchelskis recalls two of his finest moments at Hampden

My next start was also against Hearts and that was in April. Mostly, I was on the bench or out of the squad.

Rangers lost the league by an even greater margin than they had in 2001 – this time it was eighteen points. In December, Dick Advocaat had resigned and was replaced by Alex McLeish.

Briefly, I thought my career might be about to flicker back into life.

I found McLeish two-faced. When he spoke to me he was encouraging, saying he had confidence in me and that I could make a real contribution to the second half of the season, but I found out afterwards that he went to the chairman, David Murray, and said he wanted rid of me.

My final match for Rangers was spectacular, a 1–1 draw at Celtic Park that saw three players sent off in the final minute in a massed fight. It seemed an appropriate way to say goodbye, with the passion that Valery Lobanovsky had talked about in that video in Kiev all those years ago spilling over into a punch-up.

Andrei Kanchelskis’ autobiography ‘Russian Winter’ is published by deCoubertin Books and costs £20. Click here to purchase.