The months of uncertainty and the years of hard work paid off inside 90 minutes for Johnly Yfeko. Each one since has been a source of encouragement and affirmation.

Time will tell if his first appearance for Rangers proves to be his last outing at Ibrox. If that proves to be the case, he will forever appreciate what it took to get him there and what it allowed him to go on to achieve.

The personalities and the processes behind a player are often untold ahead of their debut for a club. The Yfeko story had many chapters before that day against Greenock Morton. A year on, he is now writing his next one on loan at Exeter City.

January will mark the third anniversary of Yfeko first putting pen-to-paper in Glasgow. The short term deal that was signed then was soon extended and another contract saw him commit his future to Rangers until the summer of 2026. Those agreements were evidence that Yfeko was in the right place at the right time.

In an exclusive interview with the Rangers Review, the defender has revealed the difficulties that he has endured in his career to date and expressed his belief that he can now fulfil his potential, either north or south of the border.

He was released by Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City and overlooked by Southampton. Before moving to Rangers, Yfeko was forced to self-assess a knee injury as he considered whether to pursue a career in the game. Last August, he was relieved he stuck at it.

“I just felt like I had a big weight off my shoulders, that everything that happened in the year or two beforehand was forgotten in that 90 minutes,” Yfeko tells the Rangers Review as he recalls the 2-1 victory for Michael Beale’s side at Ibrox. “I really didn’t feel nervous or anything, I was just on a cloud. I was playing at Ibrox, playing with great players that I look up to and my family were watching on TV from London. I genuinely couldn’t put into words how it felt to make my debut for Rangers.”

Beale was the boss that handed Yfeko the opportunity he had worked his whole life for. It is one that was earned the hard way as injuries curtailed his progress. Yfeko was still working through a rehabilitation schedule after knee surgery when he first made the move to Glasgow and he was soon going under the knife for a second time after a meniscus issue sustained in training kept him out for three-and-a-half months.

His focus at that stage was not on the first team. The stopper knew he had to get fit and stay fit. He played regularly for the B Team over several months but the last Old Firm outing at that level ended his campaign prematurely as a ruptured hamstring tendon condemned him to the treatment room once again.

“It was frustrating,” Yfeko said. “I did have a tough time with it. I was thankful for the support and every setback that I did have I had coaching staff there and physios telling me not to worry, that it wasn’t the end of world and that people at the club believed in me.

"I couldn’t rush it to get myself back fit and I had that security there, if you like, in terms of confidence and I knew that I could take my time to get back right. It was tough but it did go quickly in some ways. I learned a lot about myself, I feel I got stronger mentally. I think it did me more good than harm overall.”

Yfeko was well accustomed to adversity by that stage and the latest impediments to progress were not going to knock him off his stride. As a youngster, he had already dealt with rejection and learned about the nuances of life on the road to recovery.

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His profile – both in terms of his physical stature and his status as an academy player from England – saw comparisons drawn with Calvin Bassey. That link was, of course, unfair on Yfeko and no two players and no two pathways are ever the same. As he explains, his time at the King Power Stadium was very different to the former Foxes kid that made the move north during Steven Gerrard’s tenure.

“It was difficult at the time when I was let go by Leicester when I was injured,” Yfeko said. “Before that, being in an academy, I would say I was a bit sheltered. I had everything there for me, I had the physios and the gym, and then that was all gone.

"I was injured at the time and I had to basically do research myself on what was wrong with my knee to try and get back. Because I was doing it on my own, there was a lot of trial and error so it took longer for me to get back into football than it should have. But I kept at it.”

Rangers took a chance on Yfeko and invested in his promise and his personality. The Londoner had the right attributes in body and mind and made the move with much to prove to himself and to others. He had to choose his path.

“Rangers gave me the opportunity, I had one at Peterborough also,” Yfeko said. “I feel like I came out of the other side with more good than harm. It was tough but I feel like I needed it. I was too sheltered when I was at Leicester and life didn’t seem real.

"I went from being at school and doing exams to going into the life that I wanted to live as a football player. When that was taken away from me, I knew it was either make or break. If I couldn’t work hard and didn’t have it in me then I would be done.”

That thought briefly crossed Yfeko’s mind. Now an important part of the Grecians squad that are managed by former Celtic and Scotland defender Gary Caldwell, the 21-year-old is relieved that he stuck it out and kept faith in his body and his ability.

His City debut was marked with an assist in a 1-0 win at Rotherham. That appearance saw Yfeko start at centre-back but he has also featured on the left side of the defence, as he did during his time within the Auchenhowie ranks.

His move to League One offers him the platform that he has always sought and conversations with Caldwell early in the summer convinced him to join Exeter ahead of other English clubs. As he discusses the merits of the switch, Yfeko repeatedly references his need and desire to test himself in ‘men’s football’. This is the chance he has always needed and wanted.

“At some points, maybe I did have those thoughts when stuff like that was happening,” Yfeko said when asked if he ever considered walking away from the game during the more difficult stages of his career. “But, honestly, football is all I knew. I was out of school and to me that was just going in to see my friends every day and having fun. The only way I knew how to make a living was to kick a ball. I don’t really think I had a choice to then backtrack and think ‘I will just go to university’. I wasn’t good at it… You know what I am trying to say?

“I had to play football. I felt it was my only option at the time and if I had to stop because I had given up, I feel like that would have done me more harm mentally than trying and not succeeding. Then I would always have had thing in my mind about what could have been. It came into my mind but was then flushed back out by the reality. It was the only thing I was half-decent at so I had to crack on!”

Yfeko would not be where he is today if it was not for his own mental fortitude. He is also here because of a little help from his friends and family. The support of his fiancé, Kyeler, has also been a source of comfort for the defender and he has left his home in Glasgow safe in the knowledge that he can concentrate fully on his football four hundred miles south.

Those around him at Ibrox were important during the recovery from his hamstring injury. He admits, though, that there were few people within the game he could have turned to during his earlier struggles.

“In those periods of time when I was out of the game I got really close with my family,” Yfeko said. “I feel like they kept me sane when I was out the game and there was other stuff happening off the pitch. They had my back. My two closest friends had my back through it all and they were with me every day to make sure I wasn’t backtracking or doing things I wasn’t supposed to.

"In their minds, even though I wasn’t signed to any team, I was still a footballer. They kept me on the right track, made sure I wasn’t out too late. For them to do that as friends was really big for me and showed that even if I wasn’t in the game, I still had people outside of it that had belief in me. I was very thankful for that.”

Within weeks of Beale handing Yfeko his first start for Rangers, the manager was relieved of his duties at Ibrox. Yfeko had another boss to impress and he was named in a handful of matchday squads for Philippe Clement as Rangers ended the term with only the League Cup to show for their efforts.

It has been a summer of change for Rangers. Yfeko was one of those who headed for the exit door. He is one of those who could still return.

“To be honest, I didn’t talk to him at the time about it,” Yfeko said of his interactions with Clement before opting for the switch to St James Park. “I spoke to the academy director and sporting director and they thought it was the best thing for me, they knew I needed to play football either at Rangers or somewhere else.

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"I am 21 now and if I can’t play men’s football now then maybe there is not a space for me in the game. It was a chance to go and play men’s football and show that I am ready throughout the season. By the end of it, I will have learned a lot of things. So far so good.”

Clement spoke last month about the challenges that players like Yfeko and his B Team peers face when trying to make the grade at Ibrox. The setup in Scotland, the Belgian believes, does not provide an adequate grounding for players and those in the 16-21 age group encounter the same difficulties today that kids have stumbled across for several years.

Rangers are embarking on a games programme at B Team level once again this term, competing in domestic competitions and arranging friendly matches with clubs in England and Europe. The theory is that the talent will always rise to the top. For Yfeko, it is about making the most of whatever doors open for you.

“I think for some it might have been frustrating but it wouldn’t say it was the lack of opportunities because I feel like the opportunity was there,” Yfeko said. “The pathway to prove to the manager and the team was there. For me personally, coming to Rangers I struggled with a lot of injuries and stuff.

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"When I came into that 18-20 period my main focus wasn’t to play first team, it was to get fit and stay fit and not pick up any injuries. When I did get back from all of those injuries, I feel that I had a good amount of opportunities to go and prove what I can do.

“I wouldn’t lie and say that just because I didn’t breakthrough that season that I didn’t have the opportunities. I had a couple, but I clearly just wasn’t ready, and that is completely fine as well. It depends how you take it. Some people take it in a bad way. I feel that I took it well.

"I wasn’t ready so I had to go and do something about it and need to prove that I can be ready and will be ready. The opportunity is definitely there at Rangers but, like any club, it can be about luck and what is for you. I don’t think I struggled for opportunities, I think it would be unfair on the club to say that I did.”

Yfeko will not be short of chances at City. He speaks enthusiastically about the campaign ahead and working under Caldwell. This term is, he says, a time for him to see if he is as good as he thinks he is.

Yfeko sat down with his camp at the end of last season and knew that he had to play regularly in the months to come. He has the security of another 12 months on his Rangers deal when he returns to Glasgow but his motivations will be football rather than financial ones. Even at 21, there is a sense he is making up for lost time.

“I feel like my ambition is just to play football, whether that is at Rangers or at Exeter,” Yfeko said. “I just want to go where I can play and express myself and if I can’t get the game time at Rangers then I guess that will be it. I don’t think it is about what club it is, for me it is more about having that opportunity to express myself and make a name for myself. If it as Rangers then that would be great. Who wouldn’t want to play at Ibrox every week?

“But sometimes you have to part ways with something that you love and if my path isn’t at Ibrox after this season… If I leave, I will thank them for everything that they have done for me because they have been a huge part of my life and career. They have been amazing with me since I joined the club, every single staff member and player. I wouldn’t take back any single minute. At the end of the day, I need to be selfish and I need to go and play football and make a name for myself for me and my family.”