Ryan Jack assumes Allan McGregor's Rangers responsibility of teaching Beale's new boys how to win

Maybe Ryan Jack was being serious, maybe he wasn’t. It was hard to tell as the Rangers ace let a playful grin flash across his face while suggesting Allan McGregor hasn’t been the easiest character to share a dressing room with these past five years.

But there was no doubting the sincerity of the Scotland midfielder’s words when he insisted Gers need to fill the leadership void that’s been left now the iconic Ibrox shot-stopper has hung up his gloves. With Scott Arfield departed alongside the newly retired McGregor and crocked former captain Steven Davis’ future at the club uncertain, the Light Blues are running shy on players time served in the trade secrets of the Old Firm.

It means Jack, with six seasons under his belt, is now the second-longest serving member of the Ibrox playing staff, two behind skipper James Tavernier. And just as McGregor made it his job to school Gers’ new apprentices in the standards required in Govan when he returned to the club in 2018, he now intends to step up and play the role of elder statesman for Michael Beale’s fresh batch of summer signings.

Paying tribute to McGregor’s huge character after the keeper’s testimonial clash with Newcastle, Jack said: “As a person, he’s a top-notch fella, a top-notch guy. He’s done a lot for me in my time with Rangers.

“I was here when he came back and straight away you could see what the club meant to him. How much it meant to him to wear that jersey.

“Obviously, putting up with him in the changing room for a few years has been tough! Nah, look, it was a great send-off. The fans showed up in numbers for him and it was fully deserved.

“Do I have an additional responsibility now he’s left? Yeah, especially helping the new guys.

“I think as soon as you walk