GRAEME Murty is back in familiar territory, sooner than perhaps he or the club predicted, after taking up the Rangers reins once more in the wake of Pedro Caixinha’s departure, but he is determined to play his part in bringing the good times back to the Ibrox club..
His last period of seat-warming, bridging the gap between the failed Mark Warburton experiment and, well, the failed Caixinha experiment, is remembered fondly by Rangers supporters. While some of it is due to the way Murty handles himself, most of the goodwill comes from the result he achieved at Celtic Park in March, when Clint Hill’s late scrambled equaliser earned a draw.
It is an indication of Rangers’ predicament that that creditable performance is cherished by their supporter to cherish, but it is hardly surprising that the memory remains a good one given the punishment meted out to Rangers in games between the Glasgow rivals since.
"I get people coming up to me from both sides [about that game],” said Murty. “I can't repeat what one side says! But the other side is handshakes and thank yous and ‘we really enjoyed the day’.
“It's something I look back on with a sense of pride. I was part of a group that delivered a good day for the Rangers fans.
"I think the club need more good days against big opposition to really repay the support that we get, and it is our job collectively, myself, the players, all the staff to ensure that when called upon we can try and do it. It's not just about one club that we are playing against, it's about ensuring game days against any opposition are delivered properly in a manner that befits the football club."
As the saying goes, adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it, and Murty has been on a journey of self-discovery having now stepped into the frontline at Rangers twice. And, he hopes, learned a level of self-restraint that will prevent a repeat of the infamous headstand he performed during a defeat to Dundee.
"I learned a great deal about myself,” he said. “This job - whether it is the first team or the youth team - is about relationships and making sure they [the players] feel as comfortable as possible and are ready to perform. I have to make sure I work extremely hard over the next period to get to know the players better than I have done and give them what they need.
“I don't think my life changed [after his first spell in charge], but my perception of the role possibly changed. My perception of the detail needed, and the measure of control needed to manage that environment informed my working practices.
“I'm an emotional guy and I get caught up in the game. I love the game desperately and I want to do well. But I've taken that no matter how I feel or het up I get – when the players need direction I need to wind my neck in a bit and just give them what they need. That has been a massive learning curve.
“I'm going to be watched, everyone is watching all the time. So, I need to conduct myself in a manner that gives the players permission to go and be brilliant. It's not about me doing gymnastics on the sidelines and getting caught up to that extent again.
"What I learned about myself is that I am more able to take emotion out of the equation and give the players what they want. That experience at Parkhead was potentially the best learning I have had in that regard because it would be really easy to get swept up in the colour, the noise and the vibrancy of it, but we had to put it to one side and deliver clarity and concise information to the players so they could go on and perform."
One area that should be boosted by Murty’s involvement at first-team level - for however long that may be - is the advancement of young players into the starting XI.
The likes of Ross McCrorie have already had a taste of top-team action, but any notion that Murty may be less demanding of the youngsters he has been guiding through the ranks at Rangers is instantly dismissed when it is put to him that McCrorie’s learning curve has been a steep one.
“I have a distinct lack of sympathy for him,” Murty said. “He's playing for Rangers against Celtic – a childhood dream. It's supposed to be hard, it's meant to be difficult. If everyone could do it there would be no point.
“Everyone need not apply to play for this football club. Everyone need not apply for this manager's job. It's going to be tough and we need to find ways of helping our players cope with that. So, when it's difficult, it doesn't become insurmountable.
“It's interesting when you work with someone really closely because you can't help but see everything they do wrong. You want to correct it and help them through it. That's what it's like with Ross, I was doing that in his last game because I want to help him.
“His attributes are there for everyone to see. He's very quick, he's brave, good technically and he has a fantastic opportunity to claim a shirt here.
“Ross has a fantastic mindset. He wants to improve himself every day and works very diligently. He's the consummate professional, even at a young age and knows what he wants. He's prepared to put in the hard work. But he has to keep that going to maximise his potential. Because that's what we're working with, potential. There's more to come from him and it's our job to give him the platform to expand his current form.”
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