Murray Davidson earned the reputation of being the prized asset of previous St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes.
Now the Perth midfielder knows he’ll have to prove himself all over again to new boss Steve Lomas.
The former Livingston man is expected to make his first start at Ibrox on Saturday since sustaining a knee injury back in August.
Ironically, Davidson was the subject of a failed bid by Rangers to take him to Glasgow during the summer.
He said: ”I’m really looking forward to the weekend. It was a bit of a disaster that the Aberdeen game was called off because of the fog. I’d been hoping to start that one.
”But on the plus side it has given the new manager more time to work with the players.
”We have a big game at Ibrox for his first in charge of St Johnstone and when any manager comes in players have a little bit more zip in training trying to catch the eye.
”From a personal point of view I know I have it all to prove again after a change of manager. But I was never going to take the foot off the gas anyway.”
Davidson got a 70-minute run-out against a strong Celtic side last week, with the Hoops midfield including Kris Commons, Paddy McCourt and trialist Bolo Zenden. He was also seeing more action in a bounce game against Kilmarnock today.
He noted: ”I came through the Celtic match with no problems so now it’s up to the manager. I was up against strong players in the middle of the park so the game was ideal for me.
”I certainly feel ready if the gaffer wants me to start against Rangers. To be honest, I have been ready for a couple of weeks now so it would be great to return at Ibrox.”
Over the last two seasons Davidson’s development has been aided by having a formal central midfielder as his mentor in McInnes and, given the English Premier League and international pedigree of Lomas, he’s hoping his education will continue under another one.
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”Obviously he was a top midfielder, like the previous manager, so hopefully I will learn from him. It can only be positive for me because the gaffer played in my position at a top level down south. He still likes to get the boots on in training.”
Reflecting on Rangers’ failed bid that didn’t come close to tempting Saints to sell, Davidson pointed out: ”The timing of that offer was unfortunate because we were playing Rangers at the weekend.
”Even people in the street in Perth were asking all about it. It all got a bit boring because it had nothing to do with me. It wasn’t ideal timing but I was fine when the game got under way.
”Now all that speculation is behind me and, as ever, my focus is 100% on St Johnstone.
”What happened has happened. I am a St Johnstone player and because of the lay-off I’m keener than ever to get going again.
”I have to force myself back into the starting line-up with my performances on the park and in training.”
Several younger players got a call-up for last weekend’s Scotland trip to Cyprus but Davidson fully understood why he wasn’t given a call by Craig Levein.
He said: ”It wasn’t frustrating to miss out because with the injury I wasn’t expecting to be listed. It was a non-starter for me.
”If the Scotland manager calls me further down the line about being in a squad when I am fit and healthy that would be brilliant. But my priority has to be St Johnstone.”