RANGERS completed ‘The Journey’ and headed straight down a dead end in the Premiership. Now, Greg Docherty is determined to join them on the road to success under new boss Steven Gerrard.

The Light Blues have finished third in the last two seasons as campaigns that started with high hopes ended with shattered dreams.

Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty have paid the price for a series of failures and flops, some more abject and embarrassing than others, and Gerrard is the latest man to be tasked with reviving Rangers’ fortunes.

The Liverpool legend has wasted no time in laying down the law and setting out his vision for the future at Ibrox. Standards will be raised on and off the park and those that don’t hit the heights will quickly be found out, and shipped out.

For Docherty, it is a challenge to relish rather than fear and he is confident he can make the most of his chance to impress ahead of his first full campaign with his boyhood heroes.

“Of course, training is competitive but that’s good,” he said at Rangers’ pre-season camp in Andalusia. “As a whole team the standard has been raised but it’s the same when any new manager comes in, it was the same for me when I came in in January as I was trying to impress the old staff and the old players.

“But now I feel I’m settled, I’m really part of the team and I can really push on.

“Things can change in an instant in football, so you have to be part of it while you can and you never know what’s round the corner.

“So you’ve got to push and for us as player we know if you let your standards drop you might miss the bus, so to speak, and I want to be on the bus.

“I want to keep going, I want to keep pushing forward and I know we are only going to go places and for us as players it’s exciting.”

The short summer break gave Docherty and his team-mates a brief chance to reflect and take stock but the focus has very much been forward thinking at Ibrox.

The 21-year-old entered a new world, in terms of demands and expectations, when he joined the Light Blues in January.

And he believes his first months as a Ger have prepared him for whatever this season holds as he strives for success.

Docherty said: “It’s obviously a lot more gutting than I’ve been used to but that’s what I wanted. I was under no illusions when I joined this club that that was how it was going to be.

“When I was going out and speaking to people, you feel bad. You feel kind of guilty.

“But that’s just the way it is. You can see when it does go well how happy everyone is. So you want that success.

“You know the fans are craving success. If I’m part of the squad that can bring that, I will be absolutely delighted.

“It’s a fresh start. There’s no point in looking behind you. You’ve got to look forward. You have to look ahead to the future.

“I don’t think we’ve got time to look back considering how quickly the fixtures are coming around. We knew this was the way it was.

“This was the plan to get us ready for the Europa League and the league after that. It’s definitely a fresh start.”

The move from Hamilton to Rangers was a dream come true for Docherty as he penned a four-and-a-half-year deal at Ibrox.

He showed flashes of his talent and his potential but it proved to be a frustrating second half of the campaign as Murty’s side stumbled over the finishing line.

The arrival of Gerrard has reinvigorated the Light Blue legions and Docherty hopes the Liverpool legend can take his game, and Rangers, to the next level.

“As a midfielder, I can’t ask for much more than working under Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister,” he said. “When I joined the club I didn’t think this would come around.

“It’s pretty incredible for me and the rest of the younger midfielders, and even the older ones. If I can take any information that they give me then I’m sure it will improve me as a player.

“We first met the manager in the breakfast room when we arrived and he’s a very approachable guy and it’s the same with Gary McAllister.

“They just said the standards need to be raised higher, the Europa League is coming round quickly and we need to be ready to go and if you want to be part of it then stick with us and if not then there’s the door.

“Everyone wants to push themselves and it’s going to be a tough week but we know that as players. It’s pre-season and you expect that.”

It may only be a few weeks since Rangers ended a tumultuous campaign with a remarkable 5-5 draw at Easter Road but last season has been consigned to the history books by those inside and outside of Ibrox.

Gerrard brings a remarkable CV as a player with him north of the border and Docherty believes those exploits will allow him to make his mark as a manager.

He said: “I knew before I came in, because of the type of guy he was as a player, what would be needed and that he would grab people by the scruff of the neck and say ‘come on’.

“It just shows that he is going to do that again. We are a team here and that is what he said.

“We are a team and we need to be in it together. It is going to be enjoyable if we stick together and get success.

“We are a team, there are no individuals, and we have to stick together and bring success to this club.

“He’s a world-class midfielder. I’ve got to look up to him.

“A very small handful have achieved what he’s achieved in the game. If you can achieve even a small fraction of what he’s done than I’m sure you’ll have a successful career.

“That’s my aim. I will take it day by day.”