Mckay: Rangers was totally the wrong move for me. I couldn’t stick around and watch from the stands...

‘I wasn’t exceptional, either, but that wasn’t ever going to happen immediately — I needed games to get up to speed and that wasn’t happening for me.

‘I was injured for one week early in my time at Rangers but, other than that, I was fully fit. I was at a stage in my career where I couldn’t stick around and watch from the stands. I’d always played at my previous clubs and it was getting to me. There had been talk of me leaving but, as soon as the team went into administration, the writing really was on the wall.’

A communication breakdown with McCoist doesn’t seem to have helped. Renowned for his infectious personality, the Rangers manager has, on the whole, increased his standing among the club’s support for his fortitude during the club’s liquidation and subsequent rebirth, but McKay admits he did not get a chance to know the former Scotland striker during his six-month spell.

‘The manager has had a difficult time,’ he continued. ‘With all that he has had to put up with over the past few months, I am surprised he is still there. He’s a club legend and I think the fact he has stuck with it will only enhance his standing.

‘Personally, I didn’t have much face-to-face contact with him. I regret that because it would have been nice to get his take on my situation.

‘He had a job to put a team on to the pitch and he obviously decided I wasn’t going to be a part of that. It was disappointing he never really spoke to me but that’s his call.

‘I was one of the last signings at the club before it all went wrong, so maybe it was just wrong time, wrong place.’

A diminutive midfielder who is happiest when in possession, McKay was tagged as being simply too lightweight for the Scottish game. While he cannot deny his physicality, he insists he had plenty to offer McCoist’s team during a difficult