HE opened his eyes to a painful reality.

 

"I woke up on Sunday morning and thought it was a nightmare, but obviously it was true. It is hard to take.''

The words are a reminder that even in the lucrative world of planet football plc defeat has an effect on the professional footballer.

The sentiment came from Darren McGregor, the Rangers defender, as he reflected on the 4-0 thrashing by Hibernian at Easter Road.

"It is one of the lowest points I have had. I have had a knot in my stomach since Saturday,'' said McGregor, whose professional career spans more than a decade.

The hurt can be attributed simply to the effects of defeat but it also carries a layer of apprehension, even fear.

McGregor said: "I don't want to be remembered as part of the Rangers team that didn't get promotion to the Premiership and that I came in and didn't acquit myself well in the process.''

Was there a real fear of not going up to the SPFL Premiership?

"At the back of your mind you do think about it - subconsciously maybe. It's human nature,'' he said.

However, McGregor prefers to look to the future in a more positive manner. "We have not got a given right to win any game. Going to Easter Road and not performing . . . it was obvious we were short in so many departments. We all know that. It is difficult to take. The only way we can change that is to work hard on the training front, be constructive in our criticism between each of us and hopefully start winning games again,'' he said.

This focus on improving both personal and team performance is the major reason why he has not inquired about the details of his contract. McGregor is believed to have triggered an extra year on his deal by now officially having been involved in a certain amount of games.

It is far from his priority in the wake of a stumbling Rangers run that has seen the club losing to play-off rivals Queen of the South and Hibernian and being defeated by Alloa in the semi-final of the Petrofac Cup in a desperate end to 2014.

McGregor was candid when addressing the criticism of the team. Asked his reaction to supporters and commentators claiming the players were not trying, he said: "I can see where that comes from. I have been a fan as well and I have watched teams when I was younger where I have said to myself exactly that about them.

"But I can genuinely say that none of the boys goes out on the park and thinks to himself: 'I don't fancy it today'. We aren't happy to get beaten. It hurts so much to get beaten.''

McGregor, who was born in Edinburgh, said: "This isn't my club. I have only been here for six months. But the affection and connection I feel for the club is massive. I want to do well for it. It hurts me as much as it hurts the fans. My girlfriend will tell you that and my friends will tell you that. It does really mean a lot to me. So to put in a poor performance like that does matter a lot to me. To get beaten in so many departments is hard to stomach.''

This honesty extends to the title race with Hearts 15 points clear before Rangers play Dumbarton tomorrow.

"You have to be realistic in a sense, but I'm not going to sit here and say that it's done and dusted with half a season to go. That would be silly,'' he said. "On current form it would take a tremendous effort for us to catch them as they would need to lose a lot of games. We need to forget about Hearts and just look at our own momentum."

But what of those fans who fear Rangers would not win in a play-off battle against either Hibs or Queen of the South.

"I could see why people would say that, of course. We got beat off Queen of the South 2-0, we've been beat convincingly off Hibs 4-0. But I can only say that with the squad of players we have got there is probably not as much between Rangers and Hibs and Hearts as people think. It probably boils down to how much we want it. It is going to be difficult. We are in a dogfight at the minute.''

But he pointed out that Rangers still had quality and that had been proved in cup victories over St Johnstone, Inverness and Kilmarnock. "We need to recapture that form,'' he said.

But he knows there is an essential quality that must be rediscovered. "Against Hibs we lacked fight,'' said McGregor.

He has the stomach for the battle, even if it still is gripped by a knot.