Rangers boss Graeme Murty considered quitting in wake of Hampden horror show

GRAEME MURTY wanted to quit as Rangers manager five minutes after watching his side crash 4-0 to Celtic.

Appointed until the end of the season – with the possibility of staying on in the role – he found the stark contrast between his dreams and the reality of a wounding Hampden defeat just too hard to take.

However, while doubtless aware the result has ensured he has no long-term future in the role, for the short term he decided instead to stand by the old Ally McCoist maxim: ‘We don’t do walking away.’

“Was there a moment I felt like chucking it? About five minutes after the game finishing,” Murty admitted.

“The way the game had gone was not what I foresaw. It was supposed to play out as a
rip-roaring semi-final and we were going to come out on top.

“But you have to take the emotion out of it and not make a knee-jerk reaction.

“Candidly, jacking it in would have been the easy way out for me.

“I was asked to take the club forward to the end of the season. I will continue to do that until I am removed because I don’t want to take the easy way out.”

And with Celtic to be faced in the league at Celtic Park next weekend – as well as the small matter of this afternoon’s Ibrox clash with Hearts – Murty acknowledges that means the potential for more pain ahead.

“This is not practically agonising – it is agonising,” he said.

“Standing on the sideline going through that semi-final, followed by the week we’ve had and the fallout from it, this has been possibly the most-difficult week I’ve had since I’ve come to the football club.

“Possibly the most difficult week I’ve had in football.

“I have had a lot of support. People have texted me to make sure I was alright, and said, as painful as it is now, I will learn from it and get better.

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like that. Sometimes it feels too raw.

“Sunday night, for example, wasn’t a time to be on my own.

“It was a time to be surrounded by people who have your best interests at heart.

“My mum and my dad, my wife and my little girl, to be surrounded by family when you are being challenged.

“Everyone needs that when life throws up challenges, and I am really fortunate I have a really strong family around me that were there for me at that time.

“But you come through tough times, and have to hope that by doing the right things on a daily basis, you become a better person and a better practitioner at your chosen job.”

At the age of 43, and with a long playing career behind him, Murty says he has seen his share of hard times.

“This has possibly been the hardest week I’ve ever had in football, but getting relegated from the Premier League with Reading was rough too,” he said.

“The day afterwards, I had to go on a radio show and do a phone-in with fans.

“And I had days at Reading where they had ‘pants day’.

“All the fans came with loads of pants and threw them on to the pitch because we were pants.”

Not that previous bad experience has prevented last week’s embarrassment from taking its toll.

“My confidence has taken a helluva dent,” said the Rangers boss.

“Standing on the side, as a young person, in the full glare of that environment, and actually going through that is going to dent anyone’s confidence, I’d suggest.

“But there have been bigger managers than me, more experienced managers than me, who’ve gone through similar situations and come out the other side.

“So you’ve got to look at those guys and their examples, and learn that they’ve made improvement from these circumstances.

“It’s hard, it’s difficult. I won’t shy away from that fact.”

And for as long as he is in the role, Murty will demand respect, with the whole squad having been told that there must be no more outbursts from players on being taken off, as was the case with Andy Halliday and Daniel Candeias last Sunday.

“Being substituted in the biggest game of the season, against our biggest rivals, is not a nice experience. I understand that,” said Murty.

“But we still have a way of conducting ourselves.

“I am a good guy. I think I’m an affable person, a respectful person.

“I think I’m very open – too open at times. But you don’t get play in the Premier League and international football without a deep core of resilience and a burning desire to win.

“I’ve got that.

“I’m here and I’m still going to do the very, very best that I can, and I still believe the team have got enough to get where we want.”