THERE was a candid confession from Kris Boyd last night that he regards himself as a failure in his second coming as a Rangers player.

The 31-year-old, a four-time SPL top scorer, who notched 137 goals in 151 starts in his first period at Ibrox, managed 22 goals for a struggling Kilmarnock side in 2013/14 but has just nine to his name this campaign, only two of which have arrived in the league. While he could still shoot the Ibrox side back to the top-flight, the former Scotland international was in full-on self-flagellation mode as he chided himself for failing to live up to his previous standards.

"From where I was last year at Kilmarnock, of course, it's been disappointing," said Boyd. "It would be easy for me to blame other things. But I know myself that my performances haven't been good enough.

"I'm not all of a sudden going to change and say I'm someone who's happy to score two or three goals a season then score an important one," he added. "That's not me. So I can't sit here and say if I score the goal that gets Rangers promoted or a couple between now and the end that win a couple of games that I'm going to be happy with it - because I'm not.

"The big thing for me coming here was to target what I said at the beginning of the season - that 20-plus figure a Rangers striker should have with the chances you get. If you don't then I think you've failed. At this moment in time, as a Rangers striker this time round, it is safe to say I have failed."

Boyd has played in tons of big games and scooped multiple honours during his career but rarely has he faced a bigger challenge than attempting to drag this crisis-torn club up to the top division. One of a job lot of star names out of contract this summer, he chose Rangers ahead of SPFL sides such as Aberdeen and Kilmarnock last summer, but hedged his bets by declining a two-year arrangement in favour of a one-year deal. Who knows how this club will look after the EGM at Ibrox on March 4 which could see the current board of directors removed and Dave King assume control, but as things currently stand Boyd feels he hasn't done enough to deserve a new contract.

"When I came here at first, I was offered a two year deal, and I politely declined it because I felt as if this year would be an opportunity to get back up and we could build from there - whether that was with me going forward or not," he said. "I felt that, if I wasn't doing my job, it would be best for me to take myself away and let youngsters come through or let other people come in who are going to be of benefit to the club.

"If I could prove to myself, to the club, the fans between now and the end of the season that I merit a new deal then that's my aim," he added. "But there's no point in me chapping any doors to see what's happening because I know that I don't deserve anything."

For a man for whom the art of scoring goals once seemed to be second nature, suddenly it has become a very complex business indeed. That confidence of Boyd's in front of goal seems less belligerent than before, his ego less immune to criticism. At the moment he is torn between minute self analysis and reverting back to his happy-go-lucky earlier approach.

"In years gone past I wouldn't let it bother me," said the 31-year-old. "Maybe I need to just go back to that. But this year it has more so - just because I have probably felt myself missing more chances than I usually do. Why is that? I don't know. Because I've said before, I'm still scoring goals in training, I still feel sharp. Strikers do go through spells where they are not scoring but for me the whole season has been frustrating. It would be quite easy to sit and make excuses but I know my performances have not been good enough. I wouldn't say it [the criticism] is water off a duck's back anymore, because you do start to analyse things and see where you are going wrong. The next three months are not just important for me. They're important for the club, for the whole sake of Scottish football."

Whenever it eventually arrives, there will be life after Rangers for Boyd - as there will for caretaker boss Kenny McDowall. The 51-year-old, who is working his notice at the club, knows his fate is in the hands of players who are equally uncertain about their futures - "the new guy might be watching them at this moment in time, so they have to think about that," he said - but even the brief time he has spent in charge has given him an appreciation of exactly what Ally McCoist was going through.

"It's such a big club and there's so much to deal with," said McDowall. "You open your eyes in the morning and there's 10, 12, 15, 20 things you know right away that you have to attend to. I don't know if anyone will ever appreciate what we've had to endure in our time in management at this club.

"People will say 'ah well, Ally got paid this and he got paid that"," he added. "But at the end of the day, he's probably the most underpaid Rangers manager in the history. Apart from me!

"You'd think you could handle most things after this. I told Coisty he should run for President of America! On a serious note, he did an incredible job here and he will get credit eventually. People don't know how difficult a job it was."