Clint Hill admits his first few months at Rangers have been an ‘eye-opener’ as he adjusts to life in the Ibrox spotlight.

The defender was one of eleven players to join Mark Warburton’s side in the summer but it has been a frustrating start to the campaign for the Light Blues.

Victory over Partick Thistle last time out moved the Gers up to fifth in the Premiership standings but they are seven points off the pace being set by Celtic ahead of Friday’s trip to Inverness.

And former QPR stopper Hill has been taken aback by the pressure and scrutiny that Warburton’s side have come under this term.

Read more: Rangers: Our writers give their view on how Mark Warburton's side should shape up in the Premiership

He said: “It has been totally different and a new culture for me. I know it is only up the road but it is a new culture, a new style.

“The expectancy from the people at this club is massive from history. We have got to go out there and win every game, a draw is frowned upon.

“Down south, if you go to a difficult place away and get a draw people go ‘OK, that is not a bad result’. That has been an eye-opener for me.

“To be fair, it has been tough for us. The lads have come up through the leagues, come to the top league now and the standard is better, people are fitter, they are more organised and they are making it very difficult for us. I have got my eyes opened from the first few games that I have played.

“That has been the biggest thing that I have noticed – the expectancy. People outside the club will say ‘it is a big club’.

“I have watched over the years and said ‘it is a big club’, but until you actually sit in it and feel it, then you know where you are and how big it is and the expectancy.

“Even going to the local shops now, people let you know what is happening.

“It has definitely been an eye-opener for me and an experience for me and that is what I wanted.

“I am hoping that the results improve and everything kicks on and we can start climbing the table.”

Defeats to Celtic and Aberdeen and draws with Hamilton, Kilmarnock and Ross County have increased the pressure on Warburton’s side in recent weeks.

It has not been the start to the season that Rangers were hoping for on their return to the top flight after four years in the lower leagues.

And Hill knows the Ibrox squad will have to be at their best if they are to start climbing the standings sooner rather than later.

“I have never underestimated any team or player,” he told RangersTV.

“I am fully aware that when you play for this club people get motivated because they are playing against a Rangers player.

Read more: Rangers: Our writers give their view on how Mark Warburton's side should shape up in the Premiership

“They give an extra 10 or 20 per cent and that is the first thing that you have got to match before the quality of your passing or dominating the ball starts to show.

“You have got to go and win those battles. That has definitely been what I expected from Scottish football.

“Not many people like us do they? I think that is fair to say.

“We have only played a few away games but they have definitely made that clear.

“But I enjoy that, I thrive off that kind of, I don’t know [if it is] hatred, but you know what I mean. It has been good to watch some of the faces and [hear] the language that we get thrown at us.

“On the flip side of that, playing at Ibrox in front of a full house and expectant crowd is brilliant.

“It can get a bit nervy and twitchy when things aren’t going right for us but we have got to handle that and I think we have generally been OK at Ibrox.”