In 2012, Enniskillen’s Andy Little scored Rangers’ first goal of their new era in the lower leagues. His strike against Brechin in the Ramsden’s Cup competition was the club’s first since their demotion through the league structure, and it marked the start of a climb that culminated on Sunday with confirmation they had finally made it back to the top of the pyramid.

Little followed up that cup goal with a last-minute strike in the league opener against Peterhead that earned them their first point, and a week later, he netted a hat-trick against East Stirlingshire as Rangers embarked on their long, difficult journey.

As the journey came to a pinnacle on Sunday, Andy admitted relief was the overriding emotion as Celtic’s failure to secure victory over Dundee United made Rangers League champions.

“It was relief more than anything,” he confessed. “It took me by surprise on Sunday as I didn’t expect that from Celtic, but it was relief for the fans as it was something for them to celebrate.

“They have had a tough ten years of hurt and embarrassment, and have been on the receiving end of abuse from friends and colleagues from the other side of the city, so I think it was just relief more than anything that finally good times had come back.”

Two players remain at Ibrox from Andy’s time as a player, with both Alan McGregor and Stephen Davis part of the title celebrations at the weekend. Andy admits he is particularly pleased for his former international colleague.

“I would speak to Stephen fairly regularly, and he’s a total hero in my eyes,” he said. “He is Captain of my country, and also a very nice, normal fella. We like to see the good guys succeeding, and I think it was fitting that he was back to help the club win another title.”

One man in the midst of the celebrations was Manager Stephen Gerrard, and Andy puts a lot of the club’s recent success down to him.

“Gerrard has been incredible,” said Andy. “He has upped the professional standard of the whole football club. I personally would have loved to work under him.

“He has completely revamped the club from bottom to top. He has changed the training ground; he has changed the stadium; he has come in and put his own stamp on things, and it has paid off.

“They have been unstoppable this season, and the stats are unbelievable. The only team to beat them throughout Europe was St Mirren in a league cup game, where they threw it away in the dying minutes.

“The beauty of getting it done on Sunday is that all focus can now go on Europe.

“That’s not going to be easy, as Slavia Prague are a pretty ruthless team, and they score a lot of goals. It is going to be a tough task, but the beauty of it is that they can put their full attention into the double header and see how far they can go in the competition.”

A succession of injuries deprived Andy of any chance he had of extending his playing career with the club he loves, but after eight years on the Ibrox pitch, he still maintains strong ties with the club and is hoping to become increasingly involved with the media side of the game.

“My life is very different from ten years ago when I was a professional footballer playing in the top league in Scotland,” he acknowledged.

“I’m doing TV stuff and I am quite busy with club media, local radio and BBC Scotland. I have also started hosting a podcast, ‘The Essential Podcasts’, covering all of Scottish football, and that is another thing to keep me busy.”