Andy Murdoch knew his time was up at Rangers when Mark Warburton brought in a raft of loan players to start ahead of him in the Ibrox squad.
The young midfielder had established himself as a first-team regular under Stuart McCall in the Scottish Championship when Warburton was eventually appointed. Murdoch, 25, was never given a fair shake under the Englishman and departed for Greenock Morton a short time later.
Had McCall remained in the job, Murdoch was confident he would have continued to play in the Gers' engine room as he had become a trusted member of the XI. And he admits, upon reflection, that he had hoped to see McCall given the job on a permanent basis. "I had played a couple of games before Stuart McCall came in and then under him because he stuck with me, which was good because it gave me a lot of confidence," Murdoch said.
"I thought I had a good season, personally, although I know things didn't quite work out for the team. I played well under McCall and was hoping he might get the job permanently. Of course, that didn't work out, but I enjoyed playing under him. He came into the job in a difficult situation but I always thought he dealt with it well, so I was all for him getting it at the time. The club obviously went a different direction.
"I didn't really know too much about Warburton beforehand but his ideas were really good and the way he wanted to play football. Unfortunately for me I didn't fit into his plans. That happens in football, but it was unfortunate.
"The manager brought quite a lot of players to Rangers from England, but a new manager coming in was always going to have their own ideas and want their own players. He brought a few in on loan and if they were being brought in on loan, you're always going to imagine that they'll probably play some part. I went down the pecking order, I wasn't for him."
Murdoch has no regrets at leaving the Light Blues to this day. Having made upwards of 100 first-team appearances for clubs since he left, the Ayr United player feels he made the correct decision. "I'd have liked to have played more often, even a competitive game under Warburton but it just didn't happen," he added. "You have to carry on, go elsewhere and do your thing. It has worked out well, I've played under good managers in Jim Duffy, Ian McCall and now Mark Kerr."
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