McAuley has more than one medal on his mind in 2019

GARETH McAULEY could have been forgiven for believing his best chance of being in a palace this year would have been a loan spell under Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park.

As luck would have it, an impending date at a more salubrious venue in London will shortly come into view — on account of the 39-year-old Rangers defender (below) being awarded an MBE in recognition of his services to football in Northern Ireland.

The winner of 80 international caps, McAuley’s stellar club career may not have yielded the treasure trove of honours that many other players of his ilk have gathered.

For the ex-Ipswich and West Brom defender, however, the prospect of travelling to Buckingham Palace to receive his medal from the Queen is every bit as thrilling as it has been surprising.

‘The club got an email asking me to call, so I made the call and basically they asked if I would accept the award,’ said McAuley. ‘I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Then you have to keep it quiet for a few weeks before it’s announced.

‘It was very unexpected but I was humbled and delighted.

‘It’s strange... you do what you do, play football and other things that go along with it. You don’t expect anything for it.

‘So it was all a bit of a surprise but I’m very, very proud.

‘I will be notified six weeks in advance of when I attend the ceremony. It’ll be some time between now and June.’

Now McAuley is planning to give the silverware he will collect that day some company before the season is out.

With a resurgent Rangers currently level with Celtic in the league, the belief among the Ibrox support is that their trophy drought will soon be at an end.

To stand any chance of realising those ambitions in the Scottish Cup, tonight’s visit to Central Park, Cowdenbeath, must be treated with the utmost respect.

‘The track around it reminds me of Ballyskeagh, where Distillery play,’ said McAuley.

‘It has a track around it, too, and the greyhounds come on after the football.

‘Our lads know what to expect. The conditions will be tough but it’s about how we apply ourselves mentally and physically.’

McAuley’s hunger to be involved on such nights hasn’t been diminished by the fact he turned 39 last year.

Like Jermain Defoe, 36, and Steven Davis, a mere puppy at 34, the challenge of keeping the younger generation at bay is intoxicating.

‘You’ve got the young kids around you and you’re constantly trying to show them if they do this and do that they can still reach a level,’ said McAuley. ‘I’m twice the age of some of the lads — my shin pads are older!

‘Look, I’m not daft enough to think you can go on forever. But if you do the right things and always progress and find little bits to help you, then you can keep up with the younger ones and sometimes be even better than them.’

Only time will tell how the advancing years have affected three of Steven Gerrard’s most recent recruits. But if hunger and desire to make up for lost time are anything to go by, McAuley can vouch for the fact that Northern Irish team-mate Davis is ravenous to succeed. ‘He’s a great player and absolutely delighted to be back here,’ he said. ‘I know from my experience at West Brom last year how tough it is to go from being a regular to not being involved. ‘He was getting frustrated (at Southampton) and coming up here gives him a new lease of life with the size of the club, the excitement around it and the chance to win trophies again. Davo is buzzing.

‘He didn’t need any encouragement to come back. When Rangers called, there was no other place he was going.’

McAuley missed out on the Old Firm match at the end of December but, for the lifelong Rangers fan, seeing his side record their first league win over Celtic in almost seven years was adequate compensation.

‘I was delighted with the result,’ he added. ‘The performance was unreal. From the start we were on the front foot. We went after them and didn’t give them breathing space for the 90 minutes.

‘We won 1-0 and it could have been more. Personally, I was frustrated and would love to have played but there was a bigger picture. There are a lot of important games to play between now and the end of the season.’