GRAEME Murty is confident Rangers will be able to cope without the extended absence of Ryan Jack this season after the Ibrox midfielder was told he will have to undergo a knee operation.

Jack suffered an injury in the Ladbrokes Premiership game against Motherwell at the end of last month which is worse than Auchenhowie medical staff first believed.

However, Murty, who has brought in five new players during the January transfer window and has admitted there may be more signings made in the coming days, is confident he has enough cover.

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“Ryan has been great for us and he is really disappointed, as he should be,” he said. “He is a bit down, but we understand the qualities that he has. He has been fantastic for us this season. He will be a big miss.

“But, as I have always said, it is an opportunity for someone else to come into a very competitive midfield area. The business that we have done, I am really pleased with. I wouldn’t say our business is concluded, but that is in both directions.”

Meanwhile, Murty has challenged his new-look Rangers side to emulate the great Ibrox teams of the past after being inspired by an encounter with some club legends this week.

He found himself in the company of the greats at a Burns Night supper in Glasgow on Thursday evening and admitted the experience had been uplifting.

“We had big Marvin, the Goalie, Archie Knox was there,” he said. “Everyone was there. You are looking at those guys and thinking: ‘You know what? That’s part of the history here’. You see the history when you come to the club. But seeing the guys who made that history, it makes you hungry.

“I want this team to be able to stand with those legends – by being brilliant, by being great. The challenge is always not just to live up to those guys, but to be worthy of standing alongside them, these great players.

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“It’s fine to look up to them. But we want to emulate them, to be able to stand alongside them. If we do our job properly, we’ll create a culture that is designed to let us do that."

Murty, who has been confirmed as Rangers manager until the end of the season, sat next to Dave King, the chairman and major shareholder, at the dinner.

He revealed the South Africa-based businessman had been encouraged by the players who had arrived at Ibrox during the January transfer window but did not discuss his long-term future.

“He is positive that we are on the right path and he is conscious that it has taken time to get back to where we are,” he said.

“He wants all the talk about our football club to be about things on the pitch. The feedback I have had is guardedly positive, because we are in second, but it is not about one game, it is about making sure we sustain.”

Asked about his future, he said: “It wasn’t mentioned andI am comfortable with that. If I do a really good job and fulfil all the things I want to fulfil then I’m sure we’ll have another conversation further down the line."

Murty confirmed Bruno Alves is heading to his native Portugal for further treatment on his ankle injury while Ross McCrorie has been told to rest his foot injury.

Danny Wilson is expected to join MLS club Colorado Rapids.