JAMIE Murphy looks set to remain a Rangers player after it emerged that a deal has been verbally agreed between the Ibrox club and Brighton for the 28-year-old to make his loan move to the club permanent in the summer.

And there is no question in Murphy’s mind that he will be pulling on the light blue jersey again at the start of next season. Asked if he saw himself making his move to Ibrox permanent, Murphy said: “Yes, absolutely. I’m already a Rangers player in my mind. I’m loving it here. At Sheffield United I played every week and loved it. In my first season with Brighton I played most weeks but that didn’t happen this season and it gets frustrating.

“I love playing football. I don’t come in to work at training to sit and watch the game, which was happening. To come here, play every week, get goals and be involved in front of the crowd has been great.”

If things had turned out differently for Murphy, he might have been lining up for Brighton yesterday against Manchester United rather than Kilmarnock, but for a Rangers supporter like Murphy, it is not only the Old Firm fixture that he would place above a meeting with Jose Mourinho’s giants, as long as he has the Rangers badge on his chest.

“Absolutely, it’s not in question,” he said. “Playing Kilmarnock is a bigger game.”

Murphy had pictured his first appearance for Rangers against Celtic countless times in his mind, and from the outside, despite the result, there seemed to be much that Rangers could take from their performance last Sunday. But for dyed-in-the-wool Rangers fans like Murphy, there will never be consolation to be taken from a defeat to their great rivals.

“The last thing we want is plaudits for a defeat," he said. "That’s not why we are here. We are here to win and to make it a winning culture here. That’s what is acceptable not ‘oh, they did all right but still lost’.’ We lost, it’s not what we wanted but we’ve got to learn from it and move on.

“It was a big moment for me and my family [though]. I remember as a fan getting nervous watching these games. To play in it was much easier. The supporters were fantastic as they always are.

“I just wanted to do as well as I could for the team. Unfortunately, on the day it wasn’t quite enough for us to win.

“It was good for us all to learn from it. Especially as we play them again twice. It’s about not making mistakes at the wrong time. Little things decide these games. Hopefully the next couple of games we will get back to winning ways and push on.

“It’s hard to take positives from an Old Firm defeat but we have to look at the game, what we did well and keep doing those things.”

If Rangers can manage to get one over Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, then not only will they have atoned for last weekend’s league defeat in the eyes of their support, but the winger and his team-mates will go some way to cementing the type of status Murphy craves in the history of the club.

He has had the privilege of seeing some of his heroes milling around the training ground already, players that used to adorn his bedroom wall and whose picture now hangs from the Auchenhowie corridors. He would love to join them there one day.

"Richard Gough was in getting his breakfast on Friday morning and it’s great to get the chance to have a chat with people I watched," he said.

“Michael Mols was in the other day too. You want to be that kind of player who’ll be remembered.

“There are photographs at the training ground of winning teams - Scottish Cup-winning teams. You want to be in one of those photos on the wall that people remember.

“You want the winners' medal, it doesn’t matter who it’s against or what it’s for. You just want to be in a winning team.

“I had a room full of photos when I was a kid. The nine-in-a-row team were my heroes growing up. Players like Brian Laudrup and Gazza [Paul Gascoigne], Gordon Durie, all these sorts of players.

“It’s up to us to win leagues and cups, and be the next generation.”