DARREN McGREGOR felt his hopes of representing his neighbourhood on the football field started and finished at Boys’ Club level.

That was, until Mark Warburton, the Rangers manager, explained the writing was on the wall for him at Ibrox and made it clear he would be open to facilitating a transfer to Hibernian, the club McGregor has supported all his life.

The 30-year-old defender was still playing at youth level for Leith Athletic at the age of 18 before leaving for a ill-fated first spell at Cowdenbeath. The very thought of progressing to wear the green-and-white of his Edinburgh district’s senior club was a fanciful thought, at best.

The termination of his Rangers contract on Monday prised open a door he had long closed, though. There was interest from St Johnstone in his services, but McGregor, a Hibee born and bred, was never going to go anywhere other than Easter Road when the opportunity presented itself and he has expressed gratitude to Warburton for making the realisation of a lifelong dream so relatively straightforward.

“I was talking to my old gaffer a couple of weeks ago and he didn’t see a future for me at Rangers, so, as as soon as the Hibs opportunity came up, I jumped at it,” said McGregor.

"I came into pre-season hoping to play, but it wasn’t to be. I need to thank my old gaffer for being open and honest with me and telling me it would be difficult to get games this year.

"I respect that. He could have held on to me and I would have lost game time, which, at my age, wouldn’t have been wise.

“I was born and bred in Leith and, playing for Leith Athletic, it was my dream as a young boy to play for Hibs one day.

"I honestly thought that door had closed, but I’ve landed on my feet.

“I started football quite late, so my first Boys’ Club team was Leith Under-12s. I didn’t manage to break out of that until Under-19s and go to Cowdenbeath. Eventually, I have found my way here and I am delighted.

“That dream has come true and I am buzzing. There were a couple of other options on the table from Premiership teams, but I think it would be hard to turn down the team you supported as a boy in any situation."

McGregor hopes to make his debut on home turf against Stranraer in the second round of the League Cup on Wednesday evening. With a family of Hibs fanatics and a circle of friends of the same ilk, he accepts that demand for match tickets is likely to be unrelenting.

“I’ve got three sisters, a brother, a mum and plenty of friends who are Hibs fans,” he said. “I will have to figure out how many we get off the captain before I start promising people tickets.”

Alan Stubbs, the Hibernian manager, meanwhile, admits the arrival of a dyed-in-the-wool supporter in the dressing room has been most welcome.

“We’re delighted to be able to welcome Darren into the group,” said Stubbs. “His arrival provides real competition for places.

“He has always played well against us and he is strong, experienced player and a good professional.

"We're always looking to strengthen the squad and the arrival of Darren will do exactly that.

“The fact that he is also a lifelong Hibs supporter is great and this move provides him with the opportunity to fulfil the dream of playing for his team.”