No Rangers regrets for new Hamilton Accies signing Jake Hastie as he opens up on 'big ask' of trying to dislodge Kent and Arbio at Ibrox

When Jake Hastie walked through the doors at Ibrox, the winger was bursting with excitement about what the future might hold.

But once he got in the dressing room and started working alongside then team-mates Ryan Kent and Jo Aribo, he admits the confidence gained from his breakthrough spell at Motherwell slowly evaporated, as he realised the magnitude of the task facing him to become a regular in Steven Gerrard’s talented squad.

At the time, Gerrard had snapped up 20-year-old Hastie on a bumper four-year deal, hailing the arrival of “a talented young player.”

And anyone who saw Hastie in action for Motherwell in the second half of the 2018/19 season wouldn’t argue with that description. He was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year in the campaign and, as luck would have it, even Kent stood in his way there, claiming the award.

The move to Ibrox was one that he hoped would further his career but it proved to be one that stunted it, as he failed to make an impact on the first team.

He admits he realised early on the task he faced, as two of the heroes who helped Rangers reach the Europa League Final in 2022 – and lift the Premiership title that stopped rivals Celtic from winning 10-in-a-row – never gave him a look in.

But he says there are no regrets over joining Rangers and he insists he looks to the positives as he hopes to take a thing or two from their style of play into his fresh start at Hamilton Accies, having signed for the League One club last week.

In an exclusive inetrview with Lanarkshire Live Sport, Hastie recalled: “Rangers is a big club and I always knew that going in there when I signed.

“But it was a big ask for me because I was young [20] and I was going in there up against the likes of Ryan