HE had been there, done it and got the t-shirt. In the twilight of his career, Clint Hill still had one box to tick, though.

It was a case of right club, wrong time. He has left Rangers, but the memories of Rangers haven’t left him.

The signing of Hill was undoubtedly a gamble by Mark Warburton. It was one of the few the Englishman made last summer that paid off.

The defender would make 32 appearances in Light Blue and form a bond with the Ibrox crowd as he made the most of a chance he assumed would never come before he hung up his boots.

Read more: Rangers need to have second place and cup silverware in their sights this season, says former Ibrox defender Clint Hill

In a campaign that saw Rangers underperform and underachieve, Hill was one of the few players to emerge with any credit. Amidst the disappointment, there was a sense of pride.

“I never thought I would get the chance and for it to happen at that age was a bit out of the blue,” Hill told SportTimes.

“If I was 28 I would have loved it, I really would have. What a club to play for.

“The experiences that I had there, the highlights of playing in front of those fans, with all the expectation and pressure that comes with it, it was an eye-opener.

“It was absolutely brilliant. It was a bit of a transitional period coming back into the Premiership but in terms of personal experiences it was absolutely amazing, it really was.”

Read more: Clint Hill keen to continue on coaching path after missed opportunity at Rangers​

While the likes of Joey Barton and Philippe Senderos failed to live up to the hype and Joe Garner struggled to justify his £1.8million price tag, Hill steadily rose to the challenge at Ibrox.

Come the end of the campaign, it was he and fellow veteran Kenny Miller that been the most consistent performers as power was shifted from Warburton to Graeme Murty and then handed to Pedro Caixinha.

“I spoke quite openly about it and there were a few eyebrows raised when I first went in, which was fair enough,” Hill said.

“It took me a while, it took me maybe a month or two to get into the swing of playing for such a big club and everything that comes along with it.

“But I thought to myself ‘this is what it is, you have got to accept it and this is a big club so you have to handle the pressure and expectations that are there’.

Read more: Clint Hill confident defender Ross McCrorie is on the right track to fulfill his potential at Rangers​

“I just cracked on with it, and hopefully I did OK. It was a great experience.”

His time in Light Blue may have ended without a medal as Rangers finished third in the Premiership and suffered two Old Firm semi-final defeats.

But Hill still had his own moment to savour as he netted a dramatic late equaliser to earn Murty’s side a point at Parkhead.

Dark clouds hung over Ibrox for much of the campaign. For players and punters, it was a rare silver lining.

“It was a special moment obviously,” Hill said. “We were losing 1-0 and were in the lion’s den there, there was a lot of noise and animosity towards us.

Read more: Rangers need to have second place and cup silverware in their sights this season, says former Ibrox defender Clint Hill

“So to go and put a smile on the Rangers’ fans faces was brilliant and one of the highlights of my career to score in such a game like that.

“It was an important result in terms of a bit of belief and confidence after a difficult time before that. It was a positive, of course it was.

“We didn’t win and that is always a disappointment but it was a nice feeling for myself to score in a derby like that.”

As Hill and his team-mates celebrated with the supporters in the corner of Parkhead, Caixinha watched on from the stands ahead of his unveiling as manager.

Five games later, he said farewell to Ibrox and the Light Blue legions after the win over Hearts. By then, the writing was on the wall.

Having arrived during a squad overhaul at the start of the season, he was then a part of the summer clear-out by Caixinha. There were no hard feelings, though.

Read more: Clint Hill keen to continue on coaching path after missed opportunity at Rangers​

“Oh no, there was nothing like that,” Hill said. “That is football.

“It was very respectful in the way he spoke to me about it. There were no text messages or phone calls, it was face-to-face and we were looking at each other explaining our reasons.

“I have got a lot of respect for that. That is the way I want to be handled as a player so there were no complaints or any animosity from me.

“Obviously I would have loved to have stayed at that club because once you leave you realise how special a place it is.

“But there is absolutely no animosity towards the manager and I just want Rangers to do well now.”

After playing his part in Rangers’ first campaign back in the Premiership, he is now watching the Light Blues’ second crack at the top flight from afar after joining Carlisle United.

Read more: Clint Hill confident defender Ross McCrorie is on the right track to fulfill his potential at Rangers​

Victory over St Johnstone on Friday night ensured Caixinha’s side remain six points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen after a mixed start to the season.

And Hill knows there is only one thing that matters to the Portuguese as he prepares for Sunday’s Betfred Cup semi-final with Motherwell.

“It will take time, unfortunately,” he said. “When you are manager at Rangers, how much time do you get?

“It is all about winning games of football. That is what you are judged on as a manager and what he should be concentrating on.

“Every game is a must-win game and that needs your full attention.

“Everything off the field and that comes around it, you need to dismiss that and just concentrate on getting results because that is what will make you a popular figure at Ibrox.”