Rangers veteran, champion and driver of standards Allan McGregor has revealed what he needs next season at Ibrox and his motivations for playing on beyond his 40th birthday.
One of the key moments from last season was Rangers disappointing slip away to Hamilton in the 1-1 draw, as Steven Gerrard’s then champions elect were approaching the finish line.
On that particular day, the attitude and application was not quite what it should have been and a typical, blunt McGregor set the record straight in his post-match interview.
Even on the last day of the season against Aberdeen, the stopper was still barking out orders to his teammates in front of him.
Relentless, dedicated, professional, a winner – that is much of what makes the Rangers number one tick, as evidenced over an amazing 22 clean sheets in 42 appearances, theoughout the successful 20/21 term.
Speaking in the Champions official souvenir magazine, McGregor elaborated on his thoughts and the decision to carry on:
He stated, “I need to play in front of a full Ibrox again and my body feels all right.”
“If I felt that I couldn’t do it any more, I wouldn’t waste my time or the waste the club’s time either.”
“I feel like I can still play, although that might change after pre-season!”
“But I feel fine so why not keep going and try to win more?”
Desire
For now, all is well and he goes into another season wanting more glory with the hunger to match, whilst reflecting on the hard work and endeavour since his Ibrox return that made the title success a reality:
“Every season it should be our aim to win the title. That’s what this club is all about.”
“It’s hard to build a new team with a lot of new signings and it takes time to get to know the manager and the way he wants to play.”
“But over the last three years you have seen a massive change in the way we play.”
“It’s exciting, people enjoy it and every player knows their job.”
“It took a wee bit longer than we wanted to become champions again but we got there.”
That desire and will to win will always remain within McGregor but given his selfless nature, if he feels he is no longer up to the task, he will be the first to hold up his hand.