Gerrard: I’m just happy with my lot
When you wait so long to get to the place you’ve always wanted to go, it’s not easy to leave.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard says it will be impossible to find better players than he already has in January. The Ibrox gaffer is so happy with his squad that he doe sn’ t need recruits. And Gerrard has revealed new director of football
That’s how Jamie Murphy looked at his Rangers dilemma in the summer.
Having recovered from a serious knee injury, he was trying to force his way back into Steven Gerrard’s squad.
But while his mind was telling him he was ready, his body couldn’t get up to speed with the rest of his Ibrox team-mates.
That forced the manager to suggest that Murphy might need to go on loan in a bid for sharpness.
Gerrard left it up to the player and after a series of one-to-one chats, the winger made up his mind.
He was going nowhere. After grafting his whole career to get to Rangers, he refused to give it up so easily. And it’s paid off for Murphy. After intensive training and a number of reserve games, he’s now in first-team contention again, with fellow wingers Ryan Kent, Sheyi Ojo and Jordan Jones. That’s all the justification he needs for deciding to stay put instead of being farmed out somewhere else for game time.
Ahead of today’s Premiership clash with Hearts, the 30-year-old said: “We had a few good chats, myself and the manager.
“He’s been great with me since I came back from the injury. He told me what he expected and I said what I was looking for. “It’s good to have that c ommu n i c a t i o n a nd eventual ly we both agreed that it was better for me to stay and fight for my place.
“It seems to be paying off now. You want to play as many games as possible so it did cross my mind to go on loan – for a second or two.
“But I’ve worked so hard to get here. I didn’t want to give it up to go elsewhere.
“Everyone is battling to play but that’s the way it is at big clubs like Rangers.
“People know if standards drop, they’ll be out of the team and someone will take their place.
“I feel I’m training well now and things are on the up. If you don’t like fighting for a place, you’re at the wrong club.”
It was tough for Murphy to go into a training session when he was struggling to cope with the levels Gerrard’s squad were hitting.
He’s honest enough to admit that he was a few yards off the pace and Gerrard was right to leave him out of the picture completely at the start of the season.
He said: “He was right to leave me out of the team. In my head, I thought I was the same player – but I wasn’t.
“Earlier in the season I wasn’t at the levels I would have hoped to be – but I am now.
“My head said everything was OK, I could do everything I used to. But when I trained, I wasn’t as sharp as I should have been.
“I wasn’t able to go full pelt. I wanted to play but the gaffer was right not to pick me. “This is the hardest I’ve ever worked to get back from an injury. “In pre-season I was okay but I wasn’t at that elite level, where I needed to be. I was missing that two or three yards. “In the last month or so, that’s come back. But when I was supposedly f it and yet not able to contribute, that was the worst time.”
Murphy was crocked at Kilmarnock in August last year (left) but made his comeback earlier this month at Ibrox as a sub against Hamilton.
His reappearance was greeted with rapturous applause from the home supporters and Murphy was humbled by the experience.
There were times in his recovery when he wondered if he’d ever get that kind of ovation again in a Rangers shirt.
He said: “It meant a lot to me. I’d spoken to the gaffer and he said I was in the squad so I brought family and friends to the game.
“It was a good moment for them as much as me. We’ve been in it together and they’ve been my therapists for the last year!
“It was nice to get a great reception coming on. I’ll remember it for a long time.
“At times I feared I wouldn’t come back. There were points when I was out and I’d have niggles, needing to go back and see the surgeon.
“That’s when you think: ‘ I’m not coming back from this’.
“So it was brilliant to get some minutes on the park against Hamilton.
“And it was good of the gaffer to let me know I’d be involved so my kids could be there.
“My little boy hadn’t really seen me play for Rangers as he’s only two so it was a nice moment for him.”
Now that he’s back, though, Murphy won’t be content as a mere bit-part player for Gerrard’s side as they challenge Celtic for the title.
He wants to get back in the starting line up and make an impact between now and the end of the campaign.
The former Brighton winger said: “The biggest thing for me is playing a part in this title race, I love it.
“Training every day and not worrying about the knee is a great feeling.
“I was part of the squad last year but when you’re out you’re not really part of the team.
“I want more appearances but they’ll only come if I’m beating other players in my position.
“You know about the pressure and what’s expected at this club from the minute you come in.
“New boys quickly find out that’s the way it is here but you have to thrive on it and that’s what I’ll do.”