Martyn Waghorn has admitted his only regret from his two-year spell at Rangers is that it did not last longer. The 36-year-old, who retired from professional football around 18 months ago, described playing for the Ibrox club as a "huge honour" and a "real privilege."
Waghorn enjoyed a spectacular first season in Govan, firing the club out of the Championship with a prolific goal-scoring campaign. Things became trickier under Mark Warburton after promotion, and a further twist came when Pedro Caixinha took charge, eventually leading to Waghorn's departure back down south.
A Career of Highlights
The South Shields striker was lethal in front of goal during his time in Glasgow, leaving a lingering feeling that his stay should have been extended. Reflecting on his retirement, Waghorn said: "Yeah, I retired about 18 months or so ago. I just thought it was my time and I've enjoyed what I've done and just happy to move on."
Speaking about his Rangers experience, he added: "It was obviously huge (playing for Rangers). Just one, first and foremost, to play for the club, to be associated, to help get the club back to the Premiership, win a championship. I wish I could have stayed there longer, had a bit more success there. But yeah, huge, huge memories, huge honour, huge club and yeah, it was a real privilege."
Waghorn turned out for 13 clubs in nearly 20 years in the game, with goal-scoring sprees at Leicester City and Wigan before Glasgow, followed by Derby County, Coventry and others. He would have loved to have been the main man for Rangers for years to come, but admitted Caixinha had other ideas with Alfredo Morelos and several other frontmen arriving.
Departure and Moving On
Waghorn said of his exit: "It was just Pedro came in, he brought in a few forward players. Dalcio, Eduardo, Buffalo came in. So there were numbers ahead of us, I just had to be patient and there was an option to leave and there was no guarantee of game time. So yeah, it was kind of a mutual decision to play and go and play some football."
Despite his departure, Waghorn keeps tabs on Rangers and is convinced his old club are on the right track. He cited the title triumph under Steven Gerrard and the Europa League final appearance as wild highs, while acknowledging tougher times and a churn of managers followed. Under new boss Derek McInnes, optimism is rising after consecutive wins over Celtic.
Keeping an Eye on the Front Men
Waghorn said: "Obviously the size of the club speaks for itself. We've got to be competing, we have to be challenging for trophies and there's no getting away from that fact. We should have won more but that's the nature of the beast. You win some, you lose some and it's up to the new manager. So hopefully he can bring some silverware back to the club."
He pays special attention to the strikers and has been impressed with the recent form of Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsey after injuries to Youssef Chermiti and Lawrence Shankland. Waghorn added: "Obviously, naturally, you've always got an eye on a position you're familiar with doing and it would just be nice to see how I'd fit into the team now. Obviously you think more stuff like that but obviously the club's moving in the right direction, and they're in a really good place so hopefully we can continue that."
Waghorn has not lost his striker's instincts, scoring five goals in the 7-1 demolition of Celtic at the Tennents Sixes at Braehead at the weekend. He said: "Obviously as a striker you want to score goals and against these lot you want to do the best you can and win. It's a huge privilege every time I put the strip on. Obviously, I don't take it for granted playing for a club like Rangers, so yeah, huge honour and nice to be back."
