IT was a campaign that he ranks as simply the best of his career. But Lee Wallace is determined to look forward and not back.

It was the season that saw him named as Rangers captain and inspire his side over the finishing line as The Journey was completed.

For the 28-year-old, it was another step on the road to recovery, a stride in the right direction for the club he has grown to love.

Having stayed at Ibrox and played his part in helping Rangers get back to where they belong, Wallace now has his sights set on further success.

After lifting the Championship title and banishing the demons by finally getting his hands on the Challenge Cup silverware, greater prizes are now within the defender’s grasp.

He was an integral part of Mark Warburton’s side last term and deservedly took the acclaim from his fellow professionals at Ibrox and further afield as he turned in a series of superb performances throughout his finest season in Light Blue.

Now Wallace has given his manager and the supporters even more reason to be cheerful and optimistic as preparations continue for a crack at the Premiership next time out after he put pen-to-paper on a new three-year Gers deal.

“There was absolutely never a doubt over what I want to do for the rest of my career,” he said.

“It was in the club’s hands and my hands last season to make sure I did what I could to remain a part of the club I love.

“I would probably say last year was the best of my professional career, and I think there are a few boys in the changing room that could say the same.

“That’s down to the manager and Davie [Weir] and what they have brought on and off the pitch.

“Being handed the captaincy was a nerving moment, but the manager has always kept me right, as has Davie who is the epitome of what a Rangers captain should be.

“It was easy enough for me once I got going, and it was a responsibility I have really enjoyed.

“Having said that, that year has gone by and we are now looking forward to a new season where things are going to be stepped up both in terms of the league we are going to be playing in and also the opposition.

“But certainly we are going to step up how we play and how we are going to make an assault on this new league.”

There are few players in the Gers squad who seem to have bought into Warburton’s Ibrox blueprint as much as Wallace during the Englishman’s first twelve months at the helm.

The defender has carried out the instructions on a daily basis and absorbed the messages before reinforcing them behind closed doors and in public.

A Premiership campaign will pose different challenges and ask different questions of the Warburton mantra and the group of players he assembles for the top flight assault.

But it is a season his captain will go into with high hopes and higher standards after committing his future to Rangers for the long-term.

Wallace said: “Everyone that knows me at the club and outside too knows how delighted I am.

“I was running into the last year of my current deal, and we had started talks towards the end of last year, but given the big games we had in that period, I was happy to wait until pre-season.

“I am delighted to be a part of things for the next three years and delighted to still be out there on the grass, working with a tremendous manager and Davie [Weir] and with a great group of boys that we are making even greater with the additions we are talking about.

“So there are some really exciting times ahead and I am hugely excited to be a part of things for the next three years.”

Having taken some time off over the summer to recover from the highs of league and cup success and the heartache of final defeat at Hampden, Rangers returned to action at the weekend as attentions were firmly fixed on the big kick-off.

Warburton will take his players to Charleston for a training camp next week and the countdown is on to the opening Betfred Cup tie against Motherwell on July 16.

Rangers will undoubtedly have to improve if they are to challenge for silverware once again next term, but Wallace is determined to continue to lead by example.

“I have a long way to go,” he told rangers.co.uk. “I demand high standards and I have learned to do that even more with being at this football club.

“Both on and off the pitch the responsibility I had I was aware of, but having been handed the captaincy I felt an added responsibility to the guys through there in the dressing room.

“But I know I have a number of things to work on as a player, and as a group we are very demanding and demand the best from each other as individuals and as a team, so I am going to be making sure I work as hard as I can during pre-season and make sure I am the best I can be come that first game.”