LIFELONG Rangers supporter Lee McCulloch has revealed for the first time the heavy toll the Ibrox club's nightmare season has taken on him.

But the Gers captain has stressed he is still desperate to help his boyhood heroes clinch a play-off spot and book a place in the SPFL Premiership.

Fans of the Glasgow giants had hoped Ally McCoist's side would complete the final stage of what has become known as "The Journey" this season.

But the Light Blues have been beset by problems both on and off the park and McCoist and his replacement Kenny McDowall have both departed.

Rangers crashed out of the League Cup to their Old Firm rivals Celtic in a one-sided semi-final at Hampden last month - and then lost to Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup.

And their unconvincing league form doesn't fill their followers with confidence they can return to the top flight of Scottish football after a three-year absence.

McCulloch and his team-mates have come in for some scathing criticism from their own supporters -and he admits their poor showings have hurt him.

He said: "I've not been going home and making a cup of tea and thinking everything's all right. It's killing me inside to be honest with you.

"Hearts so far clear in the league and we're nowhere near them. It's not nice and it's not what we want or used to. It's up to us to finish the season well.

"I think it would be a wasted season if we didn't win promotion. It would be a season that would go down as a massive failure.

"So I think it's up to us to go and try and do what we know we can do. We have a squad who know they can do it.

"It's just about getting our own heads sorted out, getting the confidence up and getting the momentum going for the rest of the season."

McCulloch added: "It's been a frustrating season for everyone - for fans and players alike. There have been a lot of off-the-field distractions. It has been frustrating for everyone.

"But it's still in our own hands as players. Everything else seems to have been sorted out. So it's basically up to us now to try and get a play-off place and see what happens."

At 36, former Scotland internationalist McCulloch is very much the father figure in the Rangers first team squad.

But the former Motherwell and Wigan Athletic man admitted that he has found the off-field unrest at Ibrox difficult to deal with at times.

And he revealed the departure of McCoist, who resigned in December and was then placed on gardening leave, has had a major impact on the players.

He said: "It has certainly not been easy. You are playing at such a big club with such high demands. There have been times when it has taken it out of you.

"The players have probably felt it even more since Ally left. It is amazing what he took on his shoulders. He shielded the players away from it.

"Since he left the players as a squad have been getting it from all angles. I think confidence has probably dipped because of that.

"Everybody knows we haven't been playing as well as we can or as well as we should have been. I think there are loads of wee small things that you can make excuses for.

"But even though there has been a lot of off-field stuff going on, you can't really make an excuse for how we have been playing."

But McCulloch stressed that now off-field matters have stabilised with Dave King and his associates taking control and Stuart McCall being appointed interim manager there is no reason not to succeed.

He said: "I think there was maybe a sigh of relief from the squad from last Friday when the news came through.

"Plus, all the stuff at boardroom level is nothing really to do with me. It is all about getting the players as confident as they can.

"This season, whoever has been on the board, we've not lived up to the standard that we should have for many different reasons. But it is nothing to do with who was in charge or on the board."