IT won’t be the two-horse race that Rangers are accustomed to, nor is it the battle they wanted to be involved in.

But it is one Stuart McCall is confident they can emerge from with their noses in front when the finishing line is crossed next May.

If all had gone to plan for McCall last season, he would be leading Rangers into the Ladbrokes Premiership with their sights set on renewing their Old Firm rivalry and a challenge at the top of our game once again.

Instead, the nine-in-a-row legend will have to watch on as the Light Blues bid for promotion from the Championship for a second successive season.

In the race for title glory last term, Rangers never got within sight of Hearts as the Jambos sprinted to a comfortable and deserved triumph.

It was with the silverware already out of their reach that McCall got the call of duty and was asked to rescue Rangers’ ailing ambitions of achieving Premiership football.

But the task proved too great for the former Ibrox midfielder, his side finishing third in the standings before crashing to a 6-1 aggregate defeat to Motherwell in the play-off final.

This season is Rangers’ second chance, and they cannot afford to make the same mistakes again now that Mark Warburton and David Weir are at the helm.

It is the other side of Edinburgh they will have to do battle with for the silverware in the coming months, and McCall reckons the outcome will be different for the Gers.

“I think they will do really well,” he said. “Last season everyone thought Rangers would come up and it would between them, Hearts and Hibs.

“I think this season it will be a head-to-head with Hibs. Alan Stubbs has done really well there.

“I think if you look at Queen of the South, who were up there last season, they have lost three or four of their better players.

“I don’t think St Mirren, who are coming down, will be anywhere near as strong as Hearts were last year. So I think it will be a head-to-head with Hibs.

“It is a great time for Mark to go in, it is a clean slate and he can bring a lot of his own new players in.

“I think that, allied with the good players that are still at the club, they will be strong, strong favourites to win the league.”

If Rangers are to lift the silverware at the second time of asking, the support of the Ibrox crowd is likely to play a crucial part in their success.

The Light Blue legions have already snapped up 21,500 season tickets at the renewal stage this summer as the board look for fans to re-engage with the club after years of turmoil.

And McCall knows the supporters will make themselves heard as Warburton looks to give them something to shout about this term.

“The crowds came back last season, we played to 50,000 and the support, as we know, at Rangers is there,” he said.

“I am sure they are looking forward to a successful campaign this season. The proof will be there with the results.

“They have put Mark and Davie in there and I wish them all the very, very best. If the results are right, the fans will be there, there is no doubt about that.”

The Ibrox roar will look to inspire Warburton and his players, but even that wasn’t enough for McCall’s under-performing side last season.

A 3-1 defeat on home soil all but ended their promotion dream before a controversial and combustible return leg at Fir Park.

But McCall has no regrets after stepping into the frontline when called upon by his former club. He said: “I relished it. As a player, you want to play for the best teams and certainly in front of the biggest audiences.

“To walk out at Ibrox with 45,000, 50,000 there every other week was brilliant. Until the last games against Motherwell, we couldn’t have done any more.

“We got to a point that most people didn’t think we would reach. A twenty-minute spell of football at home to Motherwell cost us promotion really.

“You can look back on things in life, but it is better to look forward. I had a great time there, although short and sweet.

“It certainly hasn’t tarnished my reputation I wouldn’t have thought.”

Having missed out on the chance to lead Rangers next term as Warburton and Weir got the nod last month, McCall now finds himself in an unfamiliar position this summer.

The former Well boss has no players to scout or team to coach ahead of the new campaign, but his sights are still fixed on big occasions in the near future with his country.

“It is the first time I have had a holiday and then not had a pre-season to get into for a long time,” McCall told Sky Sports.

“This time last year I was looking forward to going into Europe with Motherwell.

“With Scotland, we have got the double-header in September and October, which will be crucial.

“We will wait and see. I certainly love getting on the training park. I loved that at Ibrox during my time there.

“I want to get back in as soon as possible, but I have certainly got one eye on Scotland coming up soon as well.”