Josh McPake 2.0 as Rangers breakout star goes Commando in bid to become key man under Gio van Bronckhorst

One of football's oldest clichés tends to be 'with a full pre-season under his belt, he could be a key man.' More often that not this mantra falls flat on its face but Josh McPake is seemingly keen to prove it right at Rangers.

The winger was the next brightest thing coming out of the Auchenhowie academy a few years ago and made it onto the senior scene by appearing against St Joseph's in Europa League qualifying in 2019. Since then the trajectory hasn't followed the same upward line, rather dipping with slight upsides before taking hits again in the form of restricted minutes and injuries. There's been silverware won in that time at Harrogate Town but there's also been the ignominy of fumbling about for form in the third and fourth tier of English football, with again those concerns proving a troublesome obstacle for the still young Ibrox winger.

That's not to say nothing has been learned over the course of his loans. In total, he's had five, but regular starts have proven a hard commodity to find. Despite this, he's back in light blue for the return of the new campaign. Boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst is running the rule over his stars, including those out on the periphery and youth teams.

McPake's work for the new term started long before this week's training link-up though. It's helped him stay sharp and contribute with a goal like he did in Saturday's 3-2 pre-season win over Partick Thistle. You only have to look across the city to see what can be achieved with one good summer training module. Anthony Ralston went from Celtic outcast to key title winner and Scotland international in 12 months.

That's not to say Rangers' 20-year-old will follow that same path. But after mixed spells with Morton, Dundee, Harrogate