Allan McGregor made sure to savour every second of Rangers ' Seville surge - and he admits it was that Europa League thrill ride which convinced him to sign on for another season.
The 40-year-old veteran keeper will put his weary limbs through another 12 months of action after casting off thoughts of retirement for another year. He’ll face a fight for game time though, with the expectation that Ibrox gaffer Gio van Bronckhorst will increasingly look to Jon McLaughlin to fill the slot between the sticks in the campaign ahead.
McGregor is up for the fight, however, as he insisted he’s desperate to tuck into the big games while he still can.
He said: “I don’t think you ever lose [the hunger to play] to be honest with you.
“Even the competitiveness when you’re older, when you’re 50-odd, I don’t think you’ll ever lose it. You can’t lose it when you’re a player at a club that needs to win every time.
“After the first few days after the season finished, I wasn’t really thinking about anything.
“Then I went on holiday, spoke to a few folk and did reflect [on things]. I felt I did take more in when we won games last season.
“Looking back on it, it was great, with some great nights and great atmospheres.
“As a player, you always want to play in games like that.”
McGregor joins Steven Davis, Connor Goldson and Scott Arfield in penning new deals.
That foursome have a combined age of 139 but the former Scotland No.1 reckons that adds up to an invaluable reserve of experience that can only benefit van Bronckhorst as he transitions to a younger generation.
Asked about the new deals handed out to his team-mates, McGregor laughed: “The old guys you mean? It’s great that the three of them signed again.
“A lot of us spoke about it together last year.
“Obviously I was trying to concentrate on the games but you always got the wee five-minute conversation - ‘What do you think? What you doing?’ Things like that.
“It’s great that everyone has signed again.
“At most clubs there is a good core of people, experienced guys who try to help new players and young guys anyway we can.
“So I think there’s a good group here.
“Do I feel a responsibility to pass on my experience to the younger players? I think when the time is needed, aye.
“But I want to do that to try to help them.
“I want to do that because if it helps them it will benefit the club as well.
“So I do try to do that when it’s needed.
McGregor was 24 by the time he established himself at Ibrox during his first Gers spell.
And he thinks his lack of action early in his career, combined with the valuable lessons he picked up starring alongside beside another team-mate who played on to his 40s, has helped keep him young.
Asked about Davie Weir’s influence, he told RTV: “It was more that I watched him, to be honest.
“We spoke now and again about what he did in the gym. But it was more about me watching him every morning.
“I took all that on board. It just helps me, it feel better after doing it, so why not?
“I took me years to break through and I did have a bad injury at 17. I was out for 18 months.
“It maybe does give you that extra hunger and willingness to keep going on.”
