ALLAN MCGREGOR has welcomed the addition of Jon McLaughlin to the Rangers squad, and reckons he brings plenty to the club.
Experienced McLaughlin arrived from Sunderland at the start of the transfer window, and while McGregor doesn’t believe he personally needs others goalkeepers to push him on, he welcomed yet another quality addition to Steven Gerrard’s team.
On what McLaughlin adds, he told RangersTV: "Good quality, experience, and more competition. I'm not saying there wasn't any competition last year but it's the same every year - there are two, three or even four goalkeepers at big clubs who can play, and it has been like that for as far as I can remember.
"I go out every day in training and try my best, or go out in a game and try my best. I don't think about anything else really, which I suppose is a good thing.
“If you keep worrying about other things, you'll probably not do your best."
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With McLaughlin coming in, Robby McCrorie, off the back of signing a long-term contract extension, headed back out to fellow Scottish Premiership outfit Livingston on-loan.
McGregor has been aware of the quality of McCrorie since before he ended his first spell at the club in 2012, and continued: "He did well, and he got good reviews. It is important for him to go and play at his age and I think it is a really good move for him.
"I am sure he will do really well this season. I remember my first training session with him, and I thought, 'he looks decent', and he has just kept slowly progressing and progressing, and it is good he is going out to get these games."
McCrorie, when speaking to RangersTV before heading out to Almondvale, revealed his ambitions to try to break into the Scotland squad.
McGregor sees no reason why that can’t be the case, and said: "I think you have got to have ambition and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think there is every chance if he does well.
"I remember Liam Kelly when he was playing there, he was tipped for Scotland squads and big Zander [Clark] at St Johnstone was getting tipped, so I don't see any reason why he can't."
Pre-season has seen Academy goalkeepers Kieran Wright, Nicky Hogarth, Brian Kinnear and Lewis Budinauckas all spend time working with the first-team.
McGregor has liked what he has seen from them, and also by the work his former teammate Graeme Smith is doing in his role as Head of Academy Goalkeeping.
"Big Smiddy's done alright! Smiled McGregor. “They have been really good and I have been really impressed by them.
"I think it's good for them to train with the first-team - I did when I was that age and it give you that motivation to keep wanting it more to try and progress yourself.
"I've no doubt big Smiddy will look after them.
"There are bits you learn yourself. I worked with Alan Hodgkinson and Billy Thompson when I was young, and they told me things, but you also look at the older ones and take things from them."