Hibernian sign up defender Darren McGregor after Rangers exit

McGregor shows off his new jersey with Hibs boss Alan Stubbs (right)

Defender Darren McGregor has joined Hibernian on a two-year deal following his release from Rangers.

The 30-year-old spent a year at Ibrox and made 53 appearances, which triggered a new deal.

However, he did not play under new Rangers boss Mark Warburton and exited this week "by mutual consent".

"It was music to my ears because I have been a Hibs fan all my days and was born and bred in Leith so it's a dream come true," he told BBC Scotland.

McGregor, who can play in central defence or at right-back, was at Cowdenbeath and St Mirren before his move to Rangers.

A regular starter last season, he dropped down the pecking order after the summer signings of James Tavernier, Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson.

"The manager was really open and honest with me and said that my game time would be limited because of the players he had brought in," McGregor explained.

"He thought I should move on to get games. It was a difficult decision as I probably had my best footballing season although the politics and all that off the park wasn't great.

"In terms of the boys and the backroom staff they were all great with me so it was hard to leave.

"I signed my release papers yesterday [Monday] and got a call around an hour and a half later saying that Hibs would be interested."

Having lost 1-0 at Ibrox on Sunday, Hibernian find themselves six points behind Rangers after three Championship games.

But McGregor was keen to stress that a successful league run will require much more than good performances against his former club.

"Rangers are far and away the favourites to win the Championship," he said.

"They have got the better players because of their budget. The test will be not playing Rangers as you raise your game automatically.

"It's Livingston away, Raith Rovers... These are the games you need to focus on and get three points from before moving onto the next one."