Alex Rae has conceded he tried to talk former Rangers supremo David Murray into taking ex-Sunderland hitman Kevin Phillips to Ibrox.
The Scot played alongside Phillips at Sunderland as the Black Cats won promotion to the Premier League and then flourished in the top flight.
Rae was in the Sunderland squad in the 1999/2000 campaign as Phillips found the back of the net an astonishing 30 times in 36 league games, with the Black Cats finishing seventh in the Premier League after an impressive campaign.
He left Sunderland in 2001 for Wolves and eventually joined Rangers in 2004, at which time Phillips too had moved on and was on the books at Southampton.
Having seen Phillips up close at Sunderland, Rae admits he advised then Rangers chairman David Murray to take the striker to Scotland.
Asked in a Rangers Q&A for the best player he played with at the top level, Rae replied: "Best player was Kevin Phillips.
"He scored 30 league goals in 38 league games at the top level in England.
"He was a phenomenal striker and I tried to talk David Murray into signing him."
Phillips found the back of the net 130 times in 235 appearances at Sunderland and his 30 goals in the Premier League in the 1999/2000 season saw him pick up the European Golden Shoe.
