MURTY BELIEVES THE PATIENCE OF SAINTS IS NEEDED TO REBUILD AILING IBROX GIANTS

IN the English third tier for the first time in 50 years with a ten-point deduction after almost going bust, it sounded like a sorry way in which to start life at Southampton.

Graeme Murty sensed nothing of the sort. The lowest ebb, perhaps, following years of decline. But not a lost cause.

For Murty had paid close attention to the mission statement from the new owners who had stepped in to save the club. He recognised an infrastructure that was right, and an academy which boasted outstanding credentials.

Each building block put in place and each obstacle overcome has led towards occasions like today’s EFL Cup final where the Saints aim to defeat Manchester United and claim their first major honour for 41 years.

The key thing for Murty to note, as the club at which he has been thrust into an unforgiving caretaker role bids to revamp its structure, is that Southampton were sustainable first — before they could be this successful.

The notion that a crazed chase of Celtic by Rangers was possible, at what remains an embryonic stage of a club in rebuild, started to look premature and silly rather early on this season. On reflection, following another defeat under Murty at Inverness on Friday, it was ridiculous.

His experience of Southampton is worth paying attention to. Rangers are redrafting the set-up, targeting a director of football to go with a head coach, and it is to be hoped that clarity is offered and realism preached.

‘Fans want success now, we know that,’ said Murty. ‘But Southampton fans could see, back then, vast strides forward being made because the club were very overt with the message about what they were trying to do and how they were trying to achieve it. So they bought into it.

‘When you get on board with something like that, and have the energy and investment ready to go, it’s very hard not to be excited by it. The people who started that off deserve massive credit.

‘The club was always capable. Seeing the infrastructure you realise that it’s been built knowingly and very professionally to go one way. All the things you’re seeing now were put in place many years ago.’

Injury limited Murty’s playing days at St Mary’s to eight games. Then, in February 2012, he joined the famed Southampton academy as a youth coach and for two years worked in an environment that has produced a succession of multi-million pound graduates.

‘I don’t think it is just this club, I think lots of clubs can learn,’ said Murty of what Rangers might gain from examining the model club. ‘It’s about having people in the right post at the right time.

‘We have to make sure all young players get the right challenges and right stresses to ensure their development goes on. And that first-team players get the right amount of support so they can be great on the pitch.’

When asked if Celtic’s march to ten in a row should be treated as an irrelevance in the bigger picture of creating a healthier long-term Rangers, Murty said: ‘I’d never say it would be an irrelevance because I understand the passion and the drive to stop that happening. But that’s not something we can control. Celtic are going invest, spend whatever they want to spend.

‘Just coming up into the division, would finishing second and getting to a cup final and challenging for that, be a success for us this year? I think it would. All of the players realise that first is the aim but aims have to be made at a time when we can go and challenge.

‘And every single time we walk onto the football pitch we will challenge and try and strive to go and get and be at that next level. You will always be judged by success on the pitch, so we have to make sure that we accelerate things forward and, if the gap is big at the moment, we have to make sure it is noticeably smaller and smaller until the time comes that we make sure that the gap isn’t there and we are first again.

‘But where we are currently, we have to be realistic. Let’s make sure all the processes are in place so we can focus on the small steps that are going to get us to the end target and lead to continuing success.’