IT’S a funny old game, Saint. Nobody at Rangers was laughing on Thursday night, though.

Reasons to be cheerful have been in short supply at Ibrox this term but it is Graeme Murty who must now bring some festive cheer to the Light Blues.

The 43-year-old left Pittodrie on Sunday in the belief that his second stint as interim manager was about to come to an end. It was job done, or so it seemed.

On Thursday, Murty received the calls that neither Dave King, Stewart Robertson or Mark Allen had been expecting to make. His second stint wasn’t over just yet.

Derek McInnes knocked over the first domino as he committed his future to Aberdeen and now Murty will have to pick up the pieces between here at Hogmanay, at least.

“I am surprised but football, as Mr Greaves said, is a funny game,” Murty said. “It’s one of those things. Nothing really should surprise us.

“He has made a decision. There is no point in second-guessing it.

“There is no point in going into the whys and wherefores or casting aspersions towards him in any way, shape or form.

“He has made a decision that he thinks is right. Fine.

“Draw a line under it. It’s done. Move forward.

“The players have to move forward. I have to move forward and the football club has to move forward.”

It is Murty rather than McInnes who will look to take Rangers in that direction in the coming weeks but the future beyond that remains uncertain.

The Ibrox board were rebuffed in their attempts to speak to the Aberdeen boss on Tuesday and McInnes then ended the possibility of a return to his former club 48 hours later.

It was a call that shocked and surprised many. It is one that Murty won’t hold against the 46-year-old, however.

“I am not going to condemn anyone for the decisions that they make,” he said. “I respect his decision.

“The club, myself, the players, have to move on. There is no point talking about it any other way.

“We don’t know Derek’s personal circumstances, we don’t know why he has made the decision. We respect his decision and we move forward collectively.

“And we have to make sure we give a united front – players, staff, fans, everyone comes together and makes sure Saturday gets taken care of.”

It is a case of back to the drawing board for Rangers now as they attempt to move on from McInnes and get a deal done sooner rather than later.

Murty will return to Ibrox for the Premiership clash with Ross County this afternoon, while matches against Hibernian, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Motherwell lie in wait. So does the Old Firm clash with Celtic at the end of the month.

The weeks ahead are crucial for Rangers. Murty will only focus on the day-to-day, though.

“You know what football is like, if an outstanding candidate comes to the fore and the board decide tomorrow they are going to go with someone else, I will accept the board’s decision and give the new person my upmost support,” he said. “And I will be ready to move onto the next chapter and move forward.

“I had plans set, on Wednesday I showed the players our opponents, their areas of strength and weakness, I had a session planned for this morning, I had a video planned for this afternoon, just in case things didn’t plan out how we thought they might.

“If I hadn’t been prepared that way, I would be guilty of not doing my job properly. Although the appointment hasn’t been made, plans were already in place in-house to make sure the players were taken care of and that will remain the case until the situation changes.”

The back-to-back wins over Aberdeen last week appeared to give Rangers the platform upon which to build under a new boss. Murty must now pick up where he left off.

The response to the defeats to Hamilton and Dundee was impressive. Now Rangers must react on the park to another off field issue.

“The uncertainty comes away from the football pitch,” he said. “The uncertainty comes from extraneous stuff that the players can’t worry about. I’m confident that the players are in a good place.

“I’m confident that the players have shown a good level. And I’m confident that the players can meet that again. It’s down to the players to step up.

“It takes a big, special person to wear a Rangers shirt. It’s not enough just to wear the shirt.

“You have to step up and contribute. I thought the players stepped up and contributed in the last two games.

“I will be encouraging them to go and actually make a statement by reaching that standard.”

The next six matches could go a long way to shaping what the remainder of the season holds for Rangers. The four weeks after them are arguably more important, however.

The Light Blues will spend a week in Florida during the top flight shutdown but the work behind the scenes must continue.

And Murty will continue to liaise with Director of Football Allen on the plans for the January transfer window.

“That process is ongoing. It has been ongoing for quite a while,” he said. “It doesn’t just start when the window opens.

“It has been ongoing since this squad was formulated and put together. It has been assessed continuously.

“If you want details on targets, I am sure Mark has a vast database. I am asked for my opinion, but I’m not the only one.

“There is a whole scouting department up there, going on with that process as we speak.

“That has been put in place, not for this eventuality, but to support whoever is sitting in this seat and make sure that he has enough data to make the squad better.”