Success swells Holt’s heart with more pride this season
Jason Holt has been there, done it and worn the title-winning T-shirt.
But the Rangers star admits lifting the Championship trophy at Ibrox tops his Hearts success – because he feels as if he actually played his part in achieving it.
Holt has finished top in the second tier for two years on the spin.
The 23-year-old has been a key man for Mark Warburton’s side in their march towards the title after being a peripheral figure with the Jambos.
And he hopes to claim more silverware in today’s Petrofac Cup Final against Peterhead to continue the best season of his life.
Holt said: “Winning it on Tuesday night was the best feeling I’ve had so far in my career.
“The noise throughout the game and the scenes at the end were different class. It’s better than last season for me because I’ve been involved here from day one. That makes it a little bit more special.
“All the boys are so happy to get over the line. But the gaffer keeps stressing that we won’t stop here.
“We have big games coming up and want to finish strong.
“I’ve loved every minute of being at Rangers. It just feels like it’s all come together for me.
“From day one we’ve all been working towards the same goal. There was added pressure from outside of our dressing-room.
“But we just kept at it, kept doing what we’re good at. We knew if we did that and stuck to our principles then we would get the rewards.”
Yet Holt’s career could have taken a different direction last summer. After a successful loan spell at Sheffield United, ex-Blades boss Nigel Clough was keen to keep him at Bramall Lane.
But when Clough was sacked, Holt ( left) was snapped up by Warburton and the rest is history. The little playmaker signed a two-year extension to his deal at Ibrox in January.
And despite the Rangers boss looking at several signing targets for next season, Holt’s convinced he can keep his place. He said: “It’s all ifs, buts and maybes, in terms of what happened in the summer. Football is funny like that.
“People come and go all the time and I just happened to find myself here at the start of the season.
“But my ambition right away was to get Rangers back to the Premiership.
“It will be a challenge next season with the manager saying he wants to bring a few in.
“But if you’ve got the shirt you need to prove your worth and try to keep it.
“Competition in the squad is really healthy. It keeps everyone working hard and pushing for a start in the side.
“We have a really close-knit group. There is good harmony.
“The gaffer wants to keep the squad lean and that’s good. We’re a capable group but if new boys come in it will keep the competition at a high level.
“We want to go up and hit the ground running next season.
“We want to really push ourselves in the Premiership – just like Hearts have this season.”
Rangers have cantered to the Championship title playing an open, expansive style of football.
And despite the increased level of competition in the top flight, Holt says they won’t change for anyone.
He said: “We’ll just keep doing the same stuff. We won’t change anything.
“We might come up against some tougher teams but we’ll be prepared and equipped for that. We’ll continue to do what we’re doing.”