Rangers first-team plans and Steven Davis influence - Charlie McCann's Q&A in full

He spoke to the Rangers Review and other assembled media following the Ibrox club's open training session.

Here is everything he had to say.

How has pre-season been so far?

I think it’s been good for me. I’ve enjoyed it so far. Being in and around it every day and getting some minutes in games, it’s been good for me and I keep developing and taking it day by day but I’m really enjoying it.

How much do you think you’ve learned this summer mixing with the first team?

I was around it a lot last season but this period during pre-season has helped me a lot because there’s a bit more time for development and learning because it’s not all about going from game to game and focusing on the teams we’re playing. It’s given me a lot of time to speak to the coaches, learn some new stuff and develop that so it’s been good.

Is Steven Davis someone you can learn off of?

Yeah, definitely. I’ve spoken about it a few times. Just training with Davo and watching Davo, you can pick up stuff anyway but he’s always there to help you as well and I’ve got a good relationship with Davo. If I need help, he helps me and he’s helped me a lot recently as well with the Northern Ireland situation. He’s been good for me.

It’s not just his quality but his attitude that’s the perfect example isn’t it?

Yeah. You look at Davo and he’s the perfect example of a pro that you should be looking at to learn from. He’s got all the experience in the world and he’s a top, top player and played at the top level for years so you can only learn good things off Davo.

Have you set yourself any targets for this season?

I think you’ve got to take it as it comes and see day to day, what happens but I think, personally, I want to build on last season. I broke through a little bit last season towards the end and hopefully this season I can break through a bit more and really establish myself and get some good minutes in games this season and hopefully do well.

How close do you feel to feeling like a Rangers player now?

Being in and around it every day you’ve got to make yourself feel that you’re part of it because you’ve got to buy into it and I think I’m definitely trying that. Being around the quality of players every day does give you a lot to learn and it gives you the confidence as well that if you can hold your own with these players you’re doing something right.

Has the manager spoken to you about what the plan is this season and could you potentially go out on loan?

There’s always an option of that but I think, at the minute, I’m looking at staying, establishing myself and getting some minutes and trying to push for a spot in the team or at least involvement in the team in the games coming up this season.

Do you see yourself as a holding midfielder or as an attacking midfielder?

I can do a bit of everything in the midfield to be fair. I enjoy playing the 6 and getting on the ball and starting everything off for the team but I also like to think I can create things and get goals and assists. It’s what I try to do if I get in those areas of the pitch because that’s what I enjoy doing.

How's Zak Lovelace settled in?

Zak’s settled in well. He got a couple of goals against Queen’s Park so he’s doing well.

What was it like scoring your first goal against Blackpool?

It was a great feeling. I didn’t know what to do at the time because it was just one of those surreal moments but I was buzzing after it. It was good to get the first one and hopefully, there’ll be more.

How beneficial do you think the Lowland League has been for you and the other young boys?

I think it’s good because it gives you a real picture of what a professional season looks like with a weekend game and maybe a midweek as well. Playing a full schedule of games, it’s probably better than some development leagues where you might play half the games of what you do in a full season. I think playing against men gives you different challenges so it definitely prepared me a lot for stepping up into the first team.

Are there any other midfielders at the club that you learn from?

I think you can take bits of advice and tips from watching and speaking to all of the midfielders in this team. You look at the likes of Jacko [Ryan Jack], Lunny [John Lundstram] and people like that, they’ve experienced a lot in the game and are top-quality midfielders so I think just by working and training with them every day I’m going to learn a lot anyway.

How beneficial has it been to have the manager here for a full pre-season?

I think it’s crucial because although we did well last season, from the manager’s point of view he probably wanted a bit more time with us to work on how he wants us to play. We’ve been able to go into a lot more detail than what we did last season because we’ve had the time to do that so it’s definitely set us up in a better position.

What does that look like?

I think it just allows us to add more strings to our bows. We’ve got different systems that we know we can play now and we know we can switch between the systems and we can do it with ease so I think it’s made us a lot more capable of being flexible in games and if something’s not going right we can definitely change it.