STEVEN DAVIS says his rehab is his number one priority as he continues his recovery from a serious knee injury.
The 38-year-old answered an SOS from the club when he was put in temporary charge of the club following the departure of Michael Beale, before the appointment of Philippe Clement in mid-October, with the midfielder working alongside the Belgian during his first few weeks at the helm.
Davis held discussions with the new boss about being part of his coaching staff but believes now wasn’t the right time to take up a coaching role.
Speaking to RangersTV exclusively on his plans for moving forward, he commented: “The manager has been great and dealing with him, it was great to work alongside him for a couple of weeks and see his ideas and then ultimately for me I had a decision to make in terms of my knee.
“First and foremost I am kind of 11 months into rehab, albeit the last few weeks have been a bit of a write off because of obviously doing the other side and the other role. Ultimately my knee is not where I would like it to be and I think it is imperative that I try and get that right.
“I am old in terms of the playing side of things but young in terms of life, hopefully wherever my career takes me in the future wherever that be coaching, management or playing it is really imperative that I get my knee right.
“I am still at a stage where I am not able to sort of play with the kids in the garden, play football with my son. It is really important that I get that right.”
The Northern Irishman has spoken on where he is at this stage of his rehab and the possibility of whether he will make a return to the pitch in the future.
He continued: “I am certainly realistic in terms of the factors that will go against me in terms of that age and the length of time that I have been out. The degree of the injury, I think I have been very lucky throughout my career. This is ultimately the first experience I have had of a long-term injury so it has been a learning curve for me in terms of that as well.
“What I have learned is it is certainly not straightforward; it is difficult to put a time frame on it. I think first and foremost I need to get my knee in a good place that gets me into a position to make a decision in terms of what the future looks like whether I have got a real good opportunity to get back to play. If that is realistic or not and also then if it is good what is next if that is not going to be the case.
“It has just really been kind of starting up again. After the last sort of month in terms of the detail that goes to the side. You can see how it becomes all-consuming and that is the way it has to be whenever you go into the coaching or the management side.
“That was certainly a good experience for me in terms of that there. Rehab's very much the same. I think it is very difficult to mar the two together so I think in my head I have to prioritise getting my knee right. Then once we get to a stage when that is in a good place I can make a decision on what way to move forward.”
Davis spoke of the ‘whirlwind’ experience of coaching for the first time and whether taking to the dugout was quite what he expected.
He added: “I think so, a lot of elements of it were. There is a lot more detail behind the scenes although you have been involved in football in the playing side for a long time.
“Certainly it was a different experience but one that I really enjoyed, but I couldn't thank the staff in and around the club enough because they really helped me in terms I wanted and what I was asking of.
“It was certainly a whirlwind. A great experience in many ways and you certainly see how it becomes all-consuming for managers but it was a great taste for something that I might look to do in the future.
“If someone had said to me in 2008 I would manage Rangers one day? I probably would have laughed at them to be honest. Obviously away back then that was certainly far from my thoughts moving forward, but to get the opportunity to do it and I am very honoured and very thankful to be given that opportunity. It was something that I really enjoyed.”
You can watch the full interview on RangersTV here or watch a short trailer below.