Murty has been bitten by the bug

GIVEN the stress and the loneliness, the relentless burden of expectation and the preposterously low level of job security, football management is plainly not for everyone. Many of those souls brave or perhaps daft enough to step forward and put their necks on the chopping block would probably run a mile if they stopped for a moment to consider the madness of it all. But still, each year, they roll off the production lines, clutching A Licences and preparing to battle meteoric odds for a sniff of a job that, statistically, they have little chance of still being in 12 months down the line. Those seeking a sound, logical answer to it all are in for a long wait. But ask someone who’s been in the shoes and sampled the heady, intoxicating brew and you at least get some sense of why they all do it and keep coming back for more. Graeme Murty is now part of a comparatively select band who can bear witness to how addictive it all can be. His five matches in charge of Rangers second time around have thrown up the full gamut of emotions. The crushing heartache of losing to Hamilton and Dundee and the huge elation of defeating Aberdeen. Stepping back into the shadows, most likely after tomorrow’s trip to Pittodrie, is something he did in March and will doubtless cope with again. Yet, he wouldn’t be human if, privately, the bug has not bitten him. ‘I don’t know where I could go that would give me the same feeling this place does,’ admitted Murty. ‘Nothing compares as it is singular. It’s out there on its own.’ You don’t doubt his sincerity but nor could you dismiss the possibility he now likes the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ said defender Danny Wilson when asked if Murty might soon have offers to manage elsewhere. ‘But I think he’s said himself he is happy at the club. Whether something else happens beyond that I’m not sure. ‘He’s handled himself well. That’s a great credit to him.’ It’s not just the largely positive publicity surrounding those games in charge that would help Murty have a crack at management in England, should he wish to go there. The fact is, a playing career that spanned 11 sterling years with Reading means he already enjoys a profile among the kind of clubs who might offer him such an opening. Even those unaware of his reputation as a solid pro as a player, though, will have noted how humility and acuity tend to walk hand in hand with him as a manager. ‘All the boys respect him,’ Wilson added. ‘We’ve tried to do our best for him. We were disappointed in the two previous results because there was no more he could have done. It fell solely on the players. ‘I just like the way he coaches us. His training sessions and his ideas are good. He lets you have an input. But he’s firm with his own beliefs in what he wants to be done. ‘He’s able to adapt. I think he’s got the makings of being a good manager. He’s very happy with his role here. ‘I’m sure, in the future, we’ll see him as a manager somewhere.’ A victory at Pittodrie would garland his CV no end. It would also sum up how unpredictable the hotchpotch of signings from the Warburton and Caixinha eras have become. Murty believes much of this is attributable to a mental fragility. An inability to score the first goal against both Hamilton and Dundee seemed to bring this to the surface. ‘Scoring the first goal is key,’ Wilson said. ‘We went ahead after eight minutes in midweek. The crowd were already up for it and that got them even more behind us and once they’re going, it’s tough to stop. ‘We started well and continued it. Now it’s a difficult away game. We have to hit the levels we did the other night.’ With Aberdeen surely only capable of playing better in the rematch, no one in Murty’s squad needs reminding of the need to maintain standards. Saying it is one thing, of course. Much too often of late, doing it has been a different matter. ‘We’ve talked about it,’ Wilson added. ‘Sometimes we have a top level and a bottom level but we can’t hit that level in between to grind a game out.’