Ross McCausland is determined to kick-on from his breakthrough campaign at Rangers.
The 21-year-old was handed a first team opportunity by Philippe Clement and never really looked back last season.
Now he wants to use what he describes as a "tough" pre-season schedule to really click with his new teammates so they can have a strong start when the competitive action begins in 10 days time.
Rangers have added Connor Barron, Liam Kelly, Mohamed Diomande, Hamza Igamane, Jefte and Clinton Nsiala to their squad, while stalwarts such as Ryan Jack, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe headed out the Ibrox exit door.
The Light Blues face Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Tuesday night hoping to improve on friendly defeats from Ajax Amsterdam and Manchester United.
"Pre-season has been good so far," the Northern Irishman told Rangers TV ahead of the away clash against English League One opposition.
"It's been tough and getting to gel as a team with our new signings coming in as well, and we've had some tough games and some good games as well. But overall it's been good."
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McCausland made 39 appearances during the 2023/24 season, and with Rangers losing both the Scottish Premiership title race and Scottish Cup final within the dying weeks of the campaign, the effect has began to worn off - and the winger ready to do it all again. This time with a more positive overall outcome.
He continued: "I think in terms of when I stopped from last season, it's not really something you feel like you've done is have a break. It's literally, you maybe get a week off and then you are back to your off-season program.
"So, right now I'm feeling good and I'm just looking ready for the season starting."
Asked what he's learned from his experiences in Clement's senior team, McCausland elaborated: “There’s quite a few I can take. I played in a lot of games and in some quite big situations; there’s a lot of stuff I can take from last season into this one.
“The biggest thing would be trying to be as involved in the games as I can, being smart on the ball, and trying to outsmart someone who is bigger when you need to find something different.
“All the teams we play against will play in a different way, and you need to adapt in order to hurt them in some ways.
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"We all want to take our experiences that we’ve gained and use them positively as young players.
“It comes so fast that you don’t have the chance to think about it. I’ve always said this, but it felt like it just happened and I didn’t have the time to reflect.
“I’ve had the time to think now and enjoy the experiences. I’m hopefully going to be more used to the physical aspects and in the legs as well, and I can use it to my advantage.
“I’d say something that I want to achieve this season is to be a regular in the games, as well as getting my numbers up in terms of goals and assists."
