Jamie Murphy fulfilled his boyhood dreams by pulling on the Rangers shirt and he still would’ve made the move, even if he knew he’d endure heartache. 

Murphy was one of very few positives during a dismal end of the 2017-18 season under Graeme Murty. That six-month loan spell from Brighton resulted in Murphy joining Rangers on a permanent deal during a summer of optimism when Steven Gerrard arrived in Glasgow.

Gerrard’s appointment sparked optimism amongst supporters and the Liverpool legend completely transformed the culture of the club with Murphy earmarked for an important role in the rebuild. 

It started brilliantly for Murphy as he scored the first goal of the Gerrard era against Shkupi in the Europa League qualifiers, but that unbelievable high quickly turned to anguish after sustaining a serious knee injury against Kilmarnock. 

Gerrard fumed at the artificial surface post-match with the ACL injury ending Murphy’s season and having a debilitating effect on his ability to perform upon his return. 

It would be easy for Murphy to feel resentment given his injury but that’s simply not the case. Arriving at Ibrox with dad late at night was an emotional moment and those memories will remain forever. 

“Even if I knew that I’d get a bad injury and everything, I would’ve still joined Rangers,” Murphy told the Rangers Review.  

“To walk out at Ibrox with the music playing and my family seeing me score my first goal. I got to celebrate with them and those are memories that I’ll never forget. 

“I remember signing at Ibrox and the deal didn’t get completed until midnight. I’ve got all the photos of me holding the strip at Ibrox at night time with my dad and these are things that don’t happen to every boy growing up in Glasgow. 

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“There’s lots of good memories. Winning the goal of the season during my loan spell and scoring the first European goal under the manager. 

“That’s a moment that I’ll always remember. There’s a little video going about and it evokes good memories whenever I see it. 

The optimism at the start of Gerrard’s tenure wasn’t limited to the stands, it also emanated around the corridors at Ibrox and Murphy immediately felt that the Rangers were now moving in the right direction after a season of apathy. 

Connor Goldson, Ryan Kent, Scott Arfield, Allan McGregor and Borna Barsic joined Murphy at Ibrox that summer and would all become integral parts of Rangers success across the last five seasons. 

While frustrated that injury deprived him of making similar contributions to those players, Murphy - who signed for Ayr United this summer - remains proud of being part of the Rangers journey back to the summit of Scottish football. 

He added: “That was supposed to be a big season after coming in and doing well when the team wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. 

“We had a new manager, new players and things were looking up but then the injury took it all away. 

“When I scored, I thought ‘this is it’ and it would be a great year. You could tell straight away that the club was moving in the right direction. We needed someone to come in, do the right things and Gerrard definitely did that. 

“I’m still proud to have played a part in returning Rangers to where they should be, even if it was taken away through injury.” 

The high point of Gerrard’s managerial spell was winning 55 by going unbeaten domestically during the 2020/21 season.

Murphy spent that season on-loan at Hibernian as he targeted playing regularly but he still enjoyed the title celebrations. 

He explained: “I could’ve stayed at Rangers that season and just recovered from injury but I’m not that type. I’m in this game to play and every move that I’ve made in my career has been to play, so I wasn’t just going to hang around. 

“I still celebrated from afar with my friends and family.” 

Parallels can be drawn between the positivity around Rangers currently and Gerrard’s first summer. Murphy believes Michael Beale is a top coach, who was ‘heavily involved’ behind the scenes under the Liverpool legend. 

Beale has admitted in recent months that he’d like to bring the top Scottish players to Ibrox and Murphy agrees. 

“It’s a Scottish club, so you want homegrown players in the team,” Murphy explained. 

“It would be preferential if they came through the academy but that can’t always be the case.

“Sometimes you have to look around other teams in Scotland but a lot of the time coaches look all around the world when there’s maybe one or two on your doorstep. 

“I’d like to see some of these players moving to Rangers and playing for Scotland. But I think it’s something that will happen more in the future, but they have to be good enough to play for Rangers.”