STEVEN DAVIS has been there, done it and got the winners’ medals to show for it after lifting eight major honours during his first spell at Ibrox.

Now the midfielder hopes to lead by example for Rangers and help Steven Gerrard’s side over the line in the Premiership to end the long wait for silverware success.

The team that Davis was part of under the guidance of Walter Smith was full of international players. Every member of it had the required quality, but also the right mentality.

As the new campaign approaches, supporters are increasingly confident that the squad that Gerrard is assembling has the technical and tactical attributes required to lift the league title. Rangers’ mental resolve has still to be tested, though.

Davis, Allan McGregor and Kyle Lafferty are the only players within the Light Blues ranks to have won the top flight crown in Scotland, although the striker may not get another crack in the coming months. Some have had a couple of failed attempts to wrest the silverware away from Celtic, while others came up just short in their first seasons at Ibrox last time out.

The third successive SPL that Rangers won in season 2010/11 is the last time the red, white and blue ribbons have been tied to the trophy.

Every term that passes, the pressure rises to end that drought. If Rangers are to be successful, Davis could have a role to play off the park as well as on it as Gerrard looks to guide his side to glory.

“The aim at the start of every season is to go and win trophies,” Davis said. “This one is no different.

“We’ve got good quality. We’ve the ability to do it. Last year we lacked a little bit of consistency. The reason we didn’t win anything wasn’t because of other teams.

“It was because of ourselves, really. We’ve got to be positive about the season ahead and believe that we can be successful.

“There is always a balance of experience and younger players in the squad. The manager has brought in players who will have to adapt quickly to the demands of the club.

“They will see that straight away. There is the likes of me and Allan, but there are other players in the squad who are good leaders as well. I think we’ve got a good balance.

“Last year, we learned a lot in terms of consistency. You are not going to play well for the full season. There are games you have to find a way to win when you are not playing well. I think at times last year, there were games that we dominated, but we weren’t clinical enough in front of goal. At other times, we conceded silly goals from set plays. So there are all these things you need to tighten up on to make sure you can be successful.”

It was alongside the likes of David Weir, Barry Ferguson and Lee McCulloch that Davis collected his first medals as he also won the League Cup three times and the Scottish Cup on two occasions.

At 34, Davis is now in the twilight of his career but he still has the ability to be a key performer in a side that have their sights set on success in Gerrard’s second campaign.

The last three years have been tough going for managers, players and supporters at Ibrox as Celtic have dominated and written their names into the history books as treble Treble winners.

But those that remain in Light Blue from last season and those that Gerrard has brought on board this summer all share the same ambition as Rangers look to break their Old Firm rival’s stranglehold on the silverware.

Davis said: “Anybody that joins the club is wanting to come here and be a winner. That’s part of the appeal of joining Rangers. Once you get a taste of success, it leaves you wanting more. Sometimes that first one can be the hardest one to get.

“So we’ve got to go in and put in the hard graft in pre-season and make sure we are ready come the start of the season. Whenever you get a bit of success in whatever you do it leaves you wanting more. It gives you a taste of it. You also learn how to do it.

“We have to believe we have the quality to be successful. We also have to show we have the mentality.

“It is unbelievable [it is eight years since Rangers’ last trophy]. In my time here and many years before the club was so used to having success every season.

“It is quite a rare experience but when we do pick up that first trophy again it will be all the sweeter.”

The seven years that Davis spent at Southampton gave him a platform to play at the highest level and prove his credentials as a fine midfielder. Internationally, he continues to captain Northern Ireland with distinction.

Now, having signed a new one-year deal, he is back in familiar surroundings and facing a familiar challenge as Rangers prepare for their European qualifiers and league campaign.

Davis has his own place in the affections of supporters, and he knows what the next Premiership success would mean after the most turbulent period in Rangers’ history.

“I’m sure the boys are all aware of the importance,” he said. “But, it is not something we have spoken about at this point. We are just focusing on getting fitness work in and the players coming in can already see the demands. If anybody is joining he club they are only joining it for one reason – and that is to try and be successful and bring trophies back.

“It would be huge. That was the appeal for me coming back.

“I was going through a difficult period at Southampton and felt my time was up there. The reason I wanted to come here wad to win trophies before I finish playing.

“The deal was done quite early in the window and I didn’t even look at anything else.

“Whenever I heard Rangers were an option it was the only one I wanted to pursue. There are pressures playing for every club depending on what the objectives are.

“You would rather be fighting at the top end of the table rather than the bottom. You have just got to embrace it. I like playing under pressure.”