ANDY MURDOCH today admitted working under nine-in-a-row great Stuart McCall has made him a better player.

Rangers interim boss McCall has stated that defensive midfielder Murdoch reminds him of himself in his heyday.

And the 20-year-old, who has established himself in the first team since being handed his chance by Kenny McDowall, is enjoying being coached by his new gaffer.

He said: "I haven't seen much of how he (McCall) played on video or anything, but a few people have told me we are similar.

"He was a great defensive midfielder. It's great that he is able to help me out and give me advice on how to play the position.

"He's been a big help on improving my awareness on the pitch, where to be and where to position myself.

"He's always on at me to be in the right positions when the ball breaks down, for example.

"I'm definitely improving. It's just about keeping my head down and playing my best in every game.

"The manager's kept us buzzing, kept us going. Last week was hard because the players were tired, but he is so energetic and we feed off that."

Murdoch helped Rangers beat Hibs 2-1 on aggregate and reach the SPFL Premiership play-off final against Motherwell at the weekend.

It was his fourth play-off game in a fortnight and he admitted that he and his team-mates were exhausted at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.

But he is confident having a sell-out crowd at Ibrox for the first leg against the Steelmen on Thursday night will lift them.

Murdoch said: "The legs are a wee bit tired, but I think we'll be alright for Thursday and we are looking forward to it.

"We are fit enough to deal with it. The adrenalin was enough to keep us going and we got through it okay in the end.

"The game being on Thursday definitely will help us recover. The games have been coming thick and fast and we could do with a little bit more rest time. It was a difficult week."