BATTLE TO BE THE NEW No 1
McLaughlin in dark on jersey as he bids to unseat McGregor
AS he prepares to begin a third season of friendly competition with Allan McGregor, Jon McLaughlin insists he’s been given no assurances about stepping up to become Rangers’ first-choice goalkeeper.
It was reported during the summer that Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst was ready to promote McLaughlin even if McGregor opted against retiring.
The veteran subsequently signed a one-year contract extension and the two Scotland-capped keepers shared duties during pre-season matches.
Rangers kick off a new league campaign with a trip to Livingston on Saturday, but McLaughlin stresses he’s still in the dark as to who will start that match.
Asked if there had been an indication of his opportunities, the 34-year-old said: ‘No, no. There has been no conversation so, again, Allan has signed back on and there is myself, Allan and Robby (McCrorie) as there was last season.
‘At the end of the day, as always, the boss is free to choose whoever he wants to choose on any given day to represent Rangers.
‘Whoever he feels is best in that position at that time to play, I am sure that is who he will go with. It is making sure you put yourself in the best light you can and see where that leaves you.’
As you would expect, McLaughlin is determined to do all he can to make the jersey his own this time around.
‘That is always what you are hoping for from the minute you come to a club,’ said the ex-Hearts man, who has made 30 outings for the Ibrox club.
‘I am certainly not at the stage where I am happy sitting in the background and just watching on and playing a supporting role.
‘Every player is in the same boat. Everyone wants to be playing and not sat on the sidelines watching.
‘As always, you are doing everything you can to get that jersey and get the nod to be on the pitch playing.
‘Of course I would have liked to have played more over the last couple of years, but, at the end of the day, you are playing for a massive club with fantastic players.
‘Greegsy is a top-class goalkeeper. So you have to go in every day, work as hard as you can to be the best version of yourself and see where that leaves you. That is what I’ll be doing again this season.’
McLaughlin wasn’t sure what was going through his rival’s mind as retirement was pondered. Now that McGregor is back in the old routine, however, he harbours no doubts about the 40-year-old’s continued hunger for top-level success.
Over two spells at the club and four league titles, McGregor has secured a reputation as one of the finest keepers to ever pull on a Rangers jersey.
That still wasn’t enough, though, to shield him from some stinging criticism last season. Costly errors in league matches against Hearts and Ross County had the knives out. A central part in Rangers’ run to the Europa League final provided a perfect riposte.
For his part, McLaughlin retains the utmost regard for McGregor and was firmly behind him when the flak flew. He said: ‘I think that is part and parcel of football and part and parcel of playing for these sorts of clubs. You are always going to get that.
‘Being goalkeepers, we are well used to that. You can have 99 good games but, if you have one bad game, you get chucked under the bus and it is easy these days for the criticism from outside to come.
‘It is so easy now online and that side of things to make throwaway comments and for something to catch. Then, before you know it, there is a media storm around it.
‘Again, I don’t think for one second Greegsy was fazed by that, knowing the man that he is.
‘And everybody who really knows the club and supports the club knows how valuable he has been. We would never want to say a bad word against him.
‘He showed throughout the season that he was still performing at a top, top level, giving his all for the club and still providing massive performances for Rangers.’
A path towards being No1 would have cleared for McLaughlin had the elder man called it quits.
‘To be fair, I did think from what we had heard from his own personal feelings that it might be the time that he decided to stop,’ reflected McLaughlin.
‘But I always knew that hunger was still there for him and you could see that. There was no way of knowing what way it was going to go because he has shown that he can still play at that top level and it will be very difficult to walk away at that stage.
‘Sometimes, you might feel it is definitely the right time to stop because there is nothing there for you anymore, but that is not the
case with Allan. I wasn’t surprised when I saw he had re-signed and you can see in pre-season that the hunger is still there for him.’
Despite the absence of regular football, McLaughlin argues he has still improved since moving to Ibrox from Sunderland.
‘Definitely,’ said McLaughlin. ‘I feel that I have continued to improve throughout my career and all the way through.
‘You are always learning, you have always got more to give, that is for sure. Coming to a club like this, when you start to get your first taste of European football and that level, it does bring you on more and more. There is that pressure of week in week out needing to perform and you can’t afford to have off days.
‘It means you need to bring your best all the time and, hopefully, that means you continue to improve and get to a point where you are the man for the job.
‘That is my aim but I am sure that is also still Allan’s aim. We all have the club’s best interests at heart and whoever the best XI to go out is, that is who will be out there and the rest of the lads will be supporting.’