Graeme Murty: It was easy to return to the Rangers Academy and I'm a better coach for my Ibrox experience

A 5-0 Old Firm win clinched the title for Celtic last April and brought a premature end to Murty’s stint as manager. Within days, he was relieved of his duties and within weeks Steven Gerrard was appointed at Ibrox.

Murty didn’t leave Rangers, though. Instead, his services were retained and he took up his place as Under-20s boss once again.

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A transition that could have been difficult, a move that could have been awkward, has been anything but and Murty’s efforts are once again paying off as his Light Blues kids go from strength to strength this term.

“No, it has been easy,” Murty said. “The club have worked very hard to make me feel valued and wanted. I have appreciated that but the important thing for me is seeing young players improve and get better every day. That speaks volumes for the work goes that goes on that no-one sees.

“I had a break but I was ready to go back in. I came to work with this age group and develop players and I am confident that it is a high standard. I am confident that we are serving them with good coaching so that we can get the best out of them.

“I was ready to do it and I have enjoyed it. I don’t know [if I want to go back to first-team coaching].

“This is consuming me. I want them to finish the season well. They deserve the focus to be on them. I’ll get the season by and then look at me.

“I learned a great deal about myself, about football and I learned a great deal about players. I think I am a better coach and a better person for it. I am certainly more wise. I have improved my practises in and around the place but going back into it felt very natural.

“The players give me great energy. They energise me. I don’t want to say they have revitalised me because that is a bit cheesy but I really do believe they have given me energy.

“I also believe they are very talented and Scotland has talent within it. It is our job to polish it and get it to the first-team.”

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There was a sense of surprise amongst supporters that Murty remained with Rangers given the way his time as boss had ended.

The move got the approval of boss Gerrard, while the Ibrox board were happy for the 44-year-old to pass on his knowledge to the next generation. Indeed, chairman Dave King called Murty his ‘man of the year’ during his speech at the AGM in November.

Murty said: “I appreciated that sentiment. It certainly took me by surprise. That statement meant a great deal to me and it has meant a lot going forward.

“Working for this magnificent football club, I feel at peace and that I am in the right place but I am at my best servicing the players. They are grown significantly and we are making great strides. But they need my focus for the rest of the season.

“The manger has had most of our players and the Under-18 age group training with them. He knows their names, their positions, their strengths. If he needs a player he comes and talks to us and we go and chat about it.

“They are no reluctant to tell us what they think and the relationship there has been very smooth. They include us in that process and the players have been able to handle that because it is not an easy thing to do, to go and play for Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister.

“They have done it really well and each of them have done something in the year has made the first-team enjoy what they do. We can prepare them as much as we can but when they get in front of the manager they need to impress.”

If Gerrard and Rangers are to be successful in the coming years, the work that Murty and his staff undertake at Under-20 level has to be of the highest standard. He no longer operates at first team level, but he can still have an impact at Ibrox.

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His second spell as manager was a stressful and unsuccessful one. He has moved on, though, and is enjoying his role at Rangers once again.

Murty said: “I have always said I want to be the best coach I can be.

“I think I am getting there and I am improving all the time. I serve the players well and I put on sessions that improve them.

“I got my Pro Licence from the SFA [on Sunday]. Talking to managers and players in that group is fantastic.

“We shared a lot of experience and that is how football could and should be. Stephen McManus was in there as was Jack Ross, Alan Maybury and Mark Burchill and Austin McPhee among others.

“It was great to speak to them and share experiences. Sitting down and talking it over is really cathartic.”

His final experience at Parkhead may have been one to forget, but Murty’s kids could have a memory to cherish as they look to retain the Glasgow Cup with a derby victory.

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The Light Blues second string are also on the verge of winning the Reserve League title and could pip their Old Firm rivals to the silverware over the coming days. It all plays into a feeling of optimism around Ibrox.

Murty said: “I have enjoyed it. It has been a good test.

“We have dotted in different challenges for the season and what you are seeing is that our young players are reaping the benefit of that.

“There is talent in our young teams and I think you are seeing that in the fact they have made it to the final of the Glasgow Cup, just as we did in the youth cup last week.

“And more impressive than the win itself was how the players reacted to being pegged back. We just need to stretch them now.

“My remit is just the kids. There is loads being talked about but I am talking about the growth of our kids.

“They are in charge of their own journey and there are other people better qualified to talk about the growth of the club than me.”