Out of contract Rangers player provides future update as he makes plea to chiefs over deal conversations

Rangers youngster Arron Lyall hopes his productive loan spell at SPFL Championship side Airdrieonians has proved to Ibrox officials he deserves a new contract.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder - who came through the Gers youth academy - confessed he’s still in the dark over his future with the Light Blues, with his current deal due to expire next month.

Lyall admits he can reflect positively on his temporary six-month stint with the Diamonds after they fell at the first hurdle against Partick Thistle during last week’s SPFL Premiership Play-Off quarter-final.

Despite scoring in Friday night’s 2-1 defeat against the Jags at Firhill - his second goal of the season - Lyall is upbeat about his chances of earning a new contract with Rangers. But he declared if he isn’t going to be offered fresh terms then he is eager to sort out his next move as quickly as possible over the summer. He admitted: “Conversations need to be had, and my contract is up in the summer. A lot of the finer details aren’t down to me – I just want to be playing football. You need to have conversations with the parent club and the club you are coming on loan to.

“We thought Airdrie was the best fit. Being at Rangers, they dominate most of the ball in most games. Airdrie is similar, they play a lot of football, dominate the ball and play a lot of lovely stuff. I think for all parties, it was beneficial for everybody.

“You absolutely want to be playing at the top level, for as long as you can. If you can get your shot there (at Rangers), it’s the biggest club in the country, really. I’m going to take it if I can.”

Lyall racked up 18 appearances for the New Broomfield outfit, insisting the opportunity to play regular first-team football has helped his development and will stand him in good stead going forward.

He added: “Playing games develops you, but playing games at first-team level where it is competitive every week, and you are trying to push for play-off positions – there’s three points on the line every week, and it has been massive for me. “In the first half of the season I was at Rangers, I had a good conversation with Rhys McCabe over Christmas, basically that I needed to come, enjoy my football, and play some minutes at men’s level. He had a lot of confidence in me, spoke to me, and said that I’m going to play some football and enjoy it.

“I’ve done that. I’ve had a good amount of appearances and some experience in the play-offs. Obviously not good experience, but you need to learn from it, especially going forward in the next couple of years, if you want to be challenging for stuff.”