Rangers captain James Tavernier has broken his silence after intense speculation on his Ibrox future this summer.
Rangers full-back James Tavernier says he is “ready to go” ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Premiership opener against Hearts, as he broke his silence on the transfer speculation that has dominated his summer.
The Rangers captain has been one of many players linked with a departure from the club during pre-season and was subject of a bid from Turkish side Trabzonspor a fortnight ago. Al-Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard had also been tipped to make a move a move for his former skipper, who he managed during his stint at Ibrox.
After long time friend and Rangers team mate Connor Goldson completed a move to Aris Limassol earlier in the week, the Gers defender took time to address speculation on his future at the club as he opened up on his excitement ahead of their league opener at Tynecastle on Saturday.
“It’s always good to see the season is coming,” Tavernier told RangersTV. “When you get the dates and first come into pre-season. It’s obviously hard work and preparation is value for the season. But you really can’t wait for the season to start, and with it just being around the corner. The boys have worked extremely hard over the course of pre-season and took in a lot of information from the gaffer on how we want to play. It has been really positive.
“I don’t take any notice (of transfer talk). There’s been speculation for a long time, almost a year and half. I have addressed it towards the end of last season. I am fully committed to the job at hand and that is where my mind always will be. Coming in day by day, working my hardest to push myself and the team on. It’s like I’m 18 again, every single day it is a joy to come in and train. I am living the dream.
“When you’re young you get told by senior guys that your career with be over in the blink of an eye, and they’re not wrong, it does go really quick. When I first came I was one of the youngest, but now I’m one of the oldest. The young lads push you, but you can also give them so much experience.”
The speculation on his future was not helped by his absence for the majority of Rangers’ opening pre-season games, however, after starting the Gers’ last two summer friendlies, Tavernier revealed it was injury – not transfer talk – that kept him out in the early parts of the summer.
“It was the perfect time to rest my hip flexer, which I had a bit of fluid in,” said Tavernier. ”It was the perfect time to not just push through it and let it settle down. Staying on the sidelines watching the lads training was hard to do, but I feel a lot better now. Getting two games under my belt before the season started was good for me and now I’m ready to go. come the first game against Hearts.”
