ANDY Halliday sat in the stands alongside thousands of his fellow Rangers fans the last time the Ibrox club took on Motherwell at Fir Park.

But he admits he wasn’t quite as devastated as many Light Blues supporters at the humiliating 3-0 defeat which their team suffered in the second leg of the Premiership play-off final last year.

Because the midfielder knew that the Gers remaining in the second tier of Scottish football might increase his chances of signing for his boyhood heroes.

The 24-year-old’s hopes were realised when Mark Warburton signed him after being appointed manager in the weeks following that painful reverse.

He was a key player for Rangers as they won the Ladbrokes Championship, clinched promotion to the top flight, lifted the Petrofac Training Cup and reached the William Hill Scottish Cup final.

As he prepares to play for Rangers in their first Betfred Cup group match at Fir Park this afternoon, he believes it will be a vastly different encounter.

“I was at the play-off game at Fir Park two seasons ago,” said Halliday. “It was a big low point for the club, more so the players who were at the club at the time.

“The club had to deal with it and it meant another season in the Championship. It was a disappointing scenario to be in at the time.

“But, from a selfish point of view, maybe I wouldn’t have been at the club had they won promotion back.

“You never know, the club might not have looked at me had they got up. You never know what might have happened in hindsight.

“The club has been able to totally rebuild and it gave me the chance to play for the club I’ve always wanted to play for.”

He added: “I was disappointed we didn’t win that day, but it gave me my chance. I probably knew I had a better chance of joining Rangers after we’d lost, it was mixed emotions I guess. It was a disappointing occasion, but Motherwell deserved to win.

“I felt for Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace who are still here and maybe that result will be at the back of their minds as they look for a wee mini revenge. It’s a totally different team that’s taking the field that’s for sure.”

Halliday believes the meeting with Motherwell in the Betfred Cup at Fir Park this afternoon will provide a good indication of just where Rangers are ahead of the start of the Ladbrokes Premiership next month.

Mark McGhee’s side finished in the top six last season and many of the players involved in that campaign – including his former Middlesbrough team mates Scott McDonald and Stephen McManus – remain involved.

Halliday admitted that he was looking forward to facing his good friend McManus, the former Celtic captain who gave him some tips before he made his Old Firm debut in the Scottish Cup semi-final, and McDonald.

"I took quite a lot of advice off players who had been in my position ahead of the Rangers game,” he said. “But that was one from the Celtic side so I didn't let anyone know that. Likewise, Scott McDonald.

“I have nothing but good words to say about him and McManus. They were great for me when I was at Middlesbrough. They were great characters, great professionals and you can see why they were big leaders - with Stephen being the captain of Celtic for a number of years.

"That just shows you the kind of players that Motherwell have got. It will be good to catch up with them but hopefully we will put one over them.”

Halliday continued: "It's a similar situation to Hibs last year. They were probably the closest rivals we had to win the Petrofac Cup and everyone outside this building thought it was a tough draw for us.

“But we relished the chance to put a marker down and show what we are all about. The preparations have not been ideal but if we are going to put a marker down there's no better place than to do it at Motherwell.

"The result is very important to us. We have aspirations to win the League Cup so we want to get out of the group. We are looking forward to the match.”

Halliday has been pleased to see Warburton strengthen his squad in the summer with the capture of players like Joey Barton, Matt Gilks, Clint Hill, Lee Hodson, Niko Kranjcar and Jordan Rossiter and is hopeful they will help Rangers challenge Celtic for the Premiership.

However, the former Livingston, Middlesbrough, Blackpool and Bradford player knows that he will have to perform at his very best in the months ahead if he is to hold onto his place in the Gers first team.

"First and foremost, they are fantastic additions, fantastic characters and great football players,” he said. “But I am a firm believer that good players welcome good players. It's going to be very healthy competition here and it's up to me to keep my jersey.

“I'm going to fight as hard as I can to play every game I can for this football club. But I've got a lot of confidence in myself and I want to try and top what I did last season.

"This season is when we will be judged as Rangers players. This is what it's all about, being a Rangers player in the Premiership.”