THE name’s Windass, Josh Windass. The letters on the back of the shirt may be the same but the player inside it is very different. Now it is up to Windass Jnr to prove it at Rangers.
Throughout his career, he has been known for being Dean’s son, but the 22-year-old is determined to make his own mark in the game. He has been through adversity, picked himself up and put in the hours on and off the park, and a move to Ibrox is the next step in Windass becoming a household name in his own right.
Throughout his career, the forward has heard the same remarks, had to put up with the same jibes from those who didn’t take him at face value. He has stepped out of his father’s shadow, although a request to have "J Windass" printed on the back of his Accrington Stanley shirt was refused by the Football Association last season.
“I have not asked about it yet but I did want it at Accrington,” Windass said. “Maybe they were lying because they didn’t want to put an extra letter on! They told me the FA wouldn’t allow it, which I don’t understand why it would make any difference. I just didn’t want people to perceive me as my dad’s son, if that makes sense.
“When I was younger at Huddersfield, people would say ‘you are in the Academy because of your old man, blah, blah, blah’. Then I got released and when I started doing well at Accrington people started saying it again. I have done well off my own back, it had nothing to do with him.
“People think it is easy but it is actually harder. People compare you. He played in the Premier League for a while and people compare you when you are not doing as well. I play in a different position and don’t score as many goals as him.”
Their lives and their talents may be very different but there are similarities in the careers of father and son. There have been steps back and strides forward and a move to Scotland could ultimately lead to bigger and better things in England.
Released by Huddersfield four years ago, Windass had to rebuild his career at Harrogate Railway Athletic and Accrington, where his performances brought him to the attention of a host of clubs.
It was Mark Warburton who made the most attractive move, and now Windass will follow in Dean’s footsteps north of the border.
“He has gone through the same route as me so far, which is quite strange,” he said. “He got released, he played Non-League and went to an English team and Aberdeen after that and I have come to Rangers. So far we have taken the same route. It was Andy Halliday that said it when I came in. The first day I walked in he said ‘you are going to get pelters at Aberdeen!’ We will just have to wait and see.”
A trip to Pittodrie is just one of many fixtures that Windass can look forward to next season. After suffering play-off heartache at Stanley, his sights are now set on the Premiership title.
Running out in front of tens of thousands of fans at Ibrox or taking to the field at Celtic Park or Hampden will be a dream come true for the Englishman.
It is a far cry from the Wham Stadium, but it is even further from the days when he picked up £50 a shift on a building site as he recovered from the broken leg that brought a premature end to his time with Huddersfield.
“It makes you work harder because you never want to go,” Windass said. “I was helping my dad’s mate. He was a builder and I was just helping him out a couple of days a week. You never want to go back to that again. It was horrible.
“It was just two or three days a week to get me some money when I broke my leg. I got released when I broke my leg so it was just to get some money in.
“My dad’s mate has got his own company so I just helped him out in Guiseley. He picked me up in the morning and I went and done a hard day’s work.
“I knew I wouldn’t have to do it for long but my mum and dad wanted me to get some money so I knew I had to do it for a bit. It was during the season and I broke my leg. I had to do it until pre-season came and I knew I was going to Accrington for pre-season. I had to wait so I did that until it came up.”
He has done the hard graft and put in the hours, now he is getting the rewards. Windass and former Accrington team-mate Matt Crooks may be the lowest profile and unheralded signings of the summer at Ibrox but they have made the move determined to impress.
Both have spent this week being put through their paces in Charleston as Warburton has stepped up his preparations for the new campaign.
For Crooks, it is valuable time on the park as he continues his recovery from injury. It is also welcome for Windass, who had a false start to life in Light Blue last month as Accrington refused him permission to train at Murray Park over a cash row between the clubs.
“Frank McParland kept telling me but I thought he was having banter,” Windass said. “He said Accrington wouldn’t let me train. I had my kit on and he said they weren’t letting me train. I thought he was joking for ages but then he came and said I had to take my kit off and go home. It was frustrating because all the lads were going out to train. They were doing fitness work so it didn’t bother me! I missed out on a bit but it was annoying.”
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