Andy Halliday suggests his versatility is thanks to Tony Mowbray

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Rangers ace Andy Halliday has a new lease of life at Ibrox.

Rangers ace Andy Halliday has become vital at left back of late – and he has told The Scottish Sun that a former Celtic manager may be to thank.

The Gers drew 1-1 at Dundee on Sunday afternoon, failing to take all three points despite facing a team who played 70 minutes with 10 men.

It was ex-Rangers striker Kenny Miller who opened the scoring, but Halliday scored the equaliser to rescue a point for the Gers.

Halliday has surprisingly become a key man for Gerrard this season, having seemingly been edging towards the Ibrox exit door over the summer.

The 27-year-old, a boyhood Rangers fan, looked to be the odd man out in midfield after three arrivals in that area, but he has been able to reinvent himself in recent weeks in order to play regularly.

With Borna Barisic missing more than two months of action, Halliday has been able to slot in as a left back, performing admirably in the Croatian’s absence.

Now, Halliday has revealed that his usefulness to Steven Gerrard in that position may actually be down to ex-Celtic manager Tony Mowbray, who first played him in that role for Middlesbrough.

Halliday admitted that his learning process in that role at Boro has helped him play there for Rangers, and having thought his Gers career was over, he is thankful that he has been able to save his spot at Ibrox.

“It was a bit of a baptism of fire by Tony,” said Halliday. “It was against Tom Ince, who was probably the form player in the league, but I played well and we got the win. Tony thought I could maybe have a run at left-back but then we played Crystal Palace and I had a torrid one. But it was a learning process. I was still a young player at that time.”

“I faced two top players and it stood me in good stead. I think I made a run of 15 or 16 starts at left-back while George Friend was injured. I’ve hardly played there since but I’ve had a few opportunities lately. I never saw my immediate future at Rangers in the summer and if someone had offered me 18 appearances by this stage, I’d have taken it. I want to be playing every week,” he added.