NOBODY needs to tell Graeme Murty how good Niko Kranjcar is. The Rangers interim manager has first-hand experience of the genius of the Croatian when he was at the peak of his powers.

Murty still winces at the mere mention of a crazy afternoon in the autumn of 2007 when he travelled to the south coast of England with his Reading team-mates to take on a star-studded Portsmouth. Pompey striker Benjani smashed in a hat-trick as the home side got the better of an 11-goal thriller, but for Murty, it was the day that he was not only introduced to the mercurial talents of a man who now plays under him, but was torn apart by him.

“Don’t mention the 7-4!” said Murty cringing. “Yes, I played against Niko. At half time, Steve Coppell said to me, ‘Is there any chance you’re going to get close to Niko Kranjcar?’. I said; ‘I have no idea where he’s playing!’

“I didn’t see him for 90 minutes, so I know how good he is. I’ve got that image in my head. He’s different now, but I know what he’s capable of. If we get glimpse or flashes of him, then great. It’s just up to us to make sure those glimpses and flashes last for longer and have more of an impact.”

For all of the hype surrounding the arrival of Joey Barton at Ibrox last summer ahead of their first season back in the Premiership, it was perhaps the signing of Krancjar that excited supporters the most. During his days at the top of the English game with Portsmouth and Tottenham in particular, the midfielder was a joy to watch, and fans were enthused by what he might produce in the light blue.

Sadly, the Ibrox faithful have been treated only to flashes of his ability. A lack of top-level match fitness upon his arrival after a spell with New York Cosmos hampered him initially, before all of his hard work behind the scenes to whip himself into shape was undone by a ruptured ACL sustained at Inverness in October last year that ended his season.

Then, after fighting back through the lonely, gruelling months of rehab to get himself back into the first-team reckoning during the summer, the wheels came off again. Thankfully, this time, a couple of months was all that was required on the sidelines, and Kranjcar reappeared to make a substitute appearance against Partick Thistle before the international break.

Now, the challenge for Murty is finding a way to get the most from a playmaker who on his day, can provide a level of ability far beyond anyone else in his squad, but may be considered a luxury when the chips are down.

“I had a good conversation with him on Friday about how we utilise him,” Murty said. “When you see him in training and the things he can do – the way he finishes and strikes the ball is of a ridiculous standard. It is up to us to see if we can get him to a good place so we can utilise him more often.

“We have a plan in place, but it is not something that will happen overnight if you think where he has come from and the trauma his knee his suffered. We want to get him up a level and to do it safely.

“You look at his qualities and what he can bring to the game – his calmness, his composure, his technique. It is up to us and his team-mates to make sure we can utilise those assets.

“I think it is a good challenge as a coach to try to shape a team around an attacking weapon like Niko. He can do things that other people simply cannot do. But it’s about making sure that what he brings positively isn’t detrimental to the rest of the team.”

Kranjcar himself is desperately disappointed that the Rangers support have yet to fully see what he can do, but he is certain there is still time for him to prove his worth at the club. The 33-year-old thinks he is best suited to playing behind the striker, and he doesn’t believe his injury problems will alter what he can bring to the table.

"I never had pace, did I?” said Kranjcar. “You have to think more I guess, trying to find positions on the pitch where you can influence the game because of the injuries I had and not being somebody who is blessed with pace.

“When I was starting to show [my best] and when I was feeling really good, the injury happened.

“This season, I can’t be happy with myself, with my form and with the team’s form. Whichever way you look at it. I think the fans are only seeing glimpses unfortunately. I’m still going to try to do my best to impress. I’m in the squad and I’m fit for selection. The last setback was only 10 days that I missed in training, but since then I haven’t been selected to play under the previous manager as I was working my way back to fitness again.

“[When you are injured] you miss the ball, you miss the lads, you miss playing out there, it wasn't a great period for me. The Niederkorn game, the first one at home I was feeling really good and then after that you get kicked out of Europe and everything changes in your psychology. After that, I got a small niggle after the Marseille game, which then took me two weeks to recover from, and since then it has been an up and down season.

“Realistically, it's normal at my age and after the surgery I had, but it's frustrating as well. It’s part of the journey I guess.”

Despite his long periods being unable to contribute on the field of play, the experience and Zen-like calm his presence brings has proven valuable during a tumultuous spell for Rangers. Kranjcar has seen it all before.

"Listen, in Croatia I had six [managers] in one season,” he said. “So, this is easy here, isn’t it?

“I think I sat here three or four months ago and said what this club needs is stability. It hasn’t turned out that way, but hopefully going forward it will happen. We all hope that Rangers is going to have a stable future and push on from there. At the end of the day, you don’t play for the manager. You play for a great football club, for yourself and the fans that support that football club. Come any game, whoever the manager is, if you put on this shirt you have to give everything. Firstly, because of the loyal fans that have gone through everything with this football club, and then because you’d be crazy not to be honoured to be part of this football club.”

*Niko Kranjcar was speaking at the launch of the Rangers Burns Supper 2018. For further information or to book, email: events@rangers.co.uk, call 0871 702 1972 or book online at www.rangers.co.uk.