Given he only signed his latest one-year contract extension in May, perhaps it is not a surprise that Ryan Jack is “relaxed” about his future at Rangers.
The 31-year-old is now into his seventh season at Ibrox and has been around the block long enough to know it is what he does on the pitch rather than any signed bit of paper that will define whether he is to remain a long-term part of Philippe Clement’s plans.
Not that the Aberdonian is in any rush to get away, certainly not when he is as pivotal to proceedings as he is at the moment. An injury to Nicolas Raskin saw him make a scoring return to the starting line-up for the recent 5-0 win over Dundee where he has remained for subsequent victories over Hearts and then Sparta Prague, playing the full 90 minutes in both. It would be something of a surprise were he not also involved against Livingston this afternoon.
The midfielder looks like a man rejuvenated by Clement’s arrival as manager. Like many of his teammates, Jack reveals there haven’t been any particularly meaningful one-to-one conversations that have helped shape his performances, underlining again it is Clement’s methodology and messages to the group as a whole that have helped elevate standards and breathe fresh life into a campaign that had become flat in the latter stages of Michael Beale’s tenure.
“When the manager first came in, I had just come back from a knock that I picked up against Aberdeen, my knee and calf,” recalled Jack.
“But he hasn’t said that much. He just puts across how as a team he wants us to play. We’ve bought into that and you can see it’s exciting. It suits the players we’ve got. We’re enjoying it and want to keep it going.
“In football, a lot of the time when a new manager comes in, there’s a lot of excitement, it’s a new voice and a new training regime. As players, you have to listen and you have to focus.
“At a club like this you don’t get time to bed in. You need to win straightaway. I think the manager has been really good with that.
“He has come in and told us he’s going to put his points across but he isn’t putting it all across at once.
“He said, ‘week by week, we’ll get better and I’ll get more things across to you’ but the main thing is that we still have to win in this period — we can’t be using that as an excuse not to win games.
“I think he’s done that brilliantly. The way he spoke to us and the things he’s implemented in training, it hasn’t been too much for us going on to the pitch on a weekend or a Thursday.”
Little wonder, then, that Jack wants to be a part of it, especially with a Viaplay Cup final to come next month and a real chance of progressing in the Europa League after the win over Sparta.
“When the manager came in it was exciting for us all because of the way he spoke straight away. He had that aura about him,” he added.
“He has a vision for us week by week, month by month. He said that it won’t be overnight, that he just clicks his fingers and everything is going to be fine. It will take time. It does excite us. You have to buy into it and so far, we have.”
Jack will be out of contract again in the summer but is in no rush to get the paperwork sorted. What will be, will be.
“It’s one of those ones, there will probably be a chat but I wouldn’t imagine it will be anytime soon,” he added. “Maybe after Christmas and New Year, we will see where we’re at. See what the club’s vision is for next season and the season after. We’ll take it from there. I’m quite relaxed about it. I was in the same situation last year.
“I love playing for the club and you want to stay at the top as long as you can. We’ll see what happens.”
The raucous atmosphere around Ibrox on Thursday night as Rangers went into an early 2-0 lead was reminiscent of their run to the Europa League final two seasons ago. Jack knows they’re not at that level yet but believes the team is in a good place to go on and secure knock-out European football.
“It’s the group stage and we knew that if we won, it would go a long way,” he added. “Then we have another home game that we need to go and win [against Aris Limassol] to get through the group and see where it takes us.”
First, though, Rangers must return to their domestic chores with a tricky trip to Livingston this afternoon.
“The manager has been brilliant,” added Jack. “Straight after the Sparta game, he said. ‘I know you probably want to enjoy the night and enjoy the win, but our thoughts are straight on to Livingston’.
“That’s the type of manager he is. We were straight into work on Friday, getting prepped and ready for Livingston. It’s over to us now to go on and get the three points.”
