Former Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty has opened up on his time at Ibrox and admits that he feels like he is “playing catch up” after being stuck on the sidelines before finally leaving the Gers and joining Hull City.
Docherty is now plying his trade south of the border and helped the Tigers secure promotion to the Championship last season as he looks to get his career back on track after his time at boyhood heroes Rangers never went to plan.
After an impressive loan stint at Shrewsbury Town, many expected Doc to return to Rangers and push for a place in the side under Steven Gerrard but the former Hamilton star couldn’t force his way into the first-team picture at Ibrox.
A further loan spell at Hibs was cut short due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic before Docherty eventually moved on permanently last summer.
The midfielder confessed the early days of his Rangers career were going “great” before changes in personnel saw thing go “a wee bit sour” following the arrival of Gerrard.
That saw him head to Shrewsbury, where he excelled in League One, but by the time he returned to Ibrox, the writing was already on the wall for his Rangers career.
“When I came in I was straight in at the deep end, which is what I wanted, and things were going great,” Docherty said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“Then all of a sudden they turned a wee bit sour, with results, different people leaving the club, people not wanting to be there, and then it was a rebuild.
“It was one I was really excited for, but I pushed for the decision that I wanted to go and get regular games, so I had a really positive loan [at Shrewsbury].
“I was coming back to a team that was really starting to kick on again, but the midfield was probably the strongest bit of the club, so it was really hard to break down and that’s sometimes just football.
“It’s a tough one, because I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I feel that I’m now maybe playing a bit of catch-up, just because I spent six months trying to get into the team before I went to Hibs, and that was cut short by Covid.
“That has affected everyone, not just me, but I feel that maybe there is a bit of catch-up.”
Timing is everything and Docherty’s Rangers stint is proof
The midfielder joined Rangers at a time where there was always going to be a further influx of new faces so those already at the club had to go above and beyond to impress.
Of the players at the club when Gerrard arrived, Only James Tavernier, Ryan Jack and Alfredo Morelos remain.
Unfortunately for Docherty, he wasn’t at a point in his career where he could realistically have been considered someone that could help carry the team in Gerrard’s first season at Rangers.
Had Doc been at Rangers a bit longer and had more time to establish himself prior to Gerrard’s arrival then he may well have found himself being a regular part of the side today.
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