NICHOLL’S EFFECT ON RANGERS

GRAEME MURTY’S signings in the January transfer window have been pivotal in a flying start to 2018 for Rangers.

And they could even lead to him landing the manager’s job on a long-term basis.

Sean Goss looks a class act, Greg Docherty a snip at £600,000 from Hamilton and Jamie Murphy is finding the form that will see Rangers pay £1.5million to make his loan from Brighton permanent in the summer.

But it was a shrewd acquisition to Murty’s backroom team that has arguably proved as crucial as any new player.

Jimmy Nicholl’s appointment as assistant manager might have raised a few eyebrows.

Out of the club game for almost two years before Paul Hartley took him to Falkirk, the 61-year-old is very much old-school and didn’t necessarily fit the road Rangers appeared to be going down.

But there is no substitute for experience and as Murty is in his first senior managerial position he needed someone like Nicholl to lean on.

The players talk of Nicholl’s infectious personality giving the squad a lift – it was certainly needed after Pedro Caixinha’s disastrous reign – and there is no doubting his popularity in the game.

But because of the wisecracks and funny stories from a career that included two spells at Ibrox after helping Manchester United win the 1977 FA Cup, people can overlook the serious football man.

Nicholl played a key role alongside Michael O’Neill at Northern Ireland and keeper Michael McGovern praised his input as they reached the knockout stage at Euro 2016.

He said: “Jimmy was massive for us in France. He was the only member of our entire squad and backroom staff who had been to a major tournament as he played at two World Cups.”

Nicholl probably thought his chance of working at a club the size of Rangers had gone after getting his hands dirty at Cowdenbeath before Hartley came calling at the Bairns.

He will come up against the club he left to join Rangers in Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final, which could go a long way to determining if he’s there for the long haul.

That will almost certainly depend on Murty being given the top job and his chances are increasing with every game. But the next two games could be defining.

A win over Falkirk and Gers will be 180 minutes from a first major piece of silverware in seven years.

That is followed by the visit of Celtic and with Murty unbeaten in two games away to Brendan Rodgers, he’ll be hoping to go one better than his two draws at Parkhead.

Despite some poor results, particularly

A shrewd acquisition that has proved as crucial as any new player

defeats at Dundee and home to Hamilton, it’s hard to argue with Murty’s overall time in charge having been handed the job in difficult enough circumstances.

It’s now one defeat in 11 as they build momentum and the improvement since he was allowed to bring in his own players in January is clear to see.

When Neil Lennon was initially in caretaker charge of Celtic after the Tony Mowbray disaster he admitted stepping back down to reserve football would have been tough after getting a taste of life as first-team boss.

Murty will have the same issue and he deserves some clarity on the situation as plans for next season should be getting put in place now.

He should be given next season at least but if not, the next Rangers manager will have a lot to live up to.