NICKY Clark ended last season as the top goalscorer in the country after banging in an astonishing 41 goals for Queen of the South.

But the 21-year-old striker has predicted he can become an even better finisher in the future – by working under Ally McCoist at Rangers.

Clark, the son of former Gers hit man Sandy, finally put pen to paper on a three-year contract with the Ibrox club yesterday.

With new signing Jon Daly, Kane Hemmings, Andy Little and Lee McCulloch all on the books at the Irn-Bru Third Division champions, he knows he is going to have to fight for a start up front.

However, Clark is quietly confident he can feature for the Glasgow giants in the Second Division – the league he took by storm last term – and score plenty of goals under McCoist's guidance.

"The chance to work with Ally McCoist, one of Scotland's greatest ever goalscorers, was definitely very attractive to me," he said.

"I'm a striker and he was obviously a great striker. So I think I will learn a lot off the manager here and that will help me progress my career.

"He was really keen to get me in. As soon as I saw that, there was only one place that I wanted to come to, Rangers. I was delighted to hear how much he wanted me.

"Hopefully I can have a good season like I did in the season that has just finished. My aim is to score goals and win the league again.

"There are expectations for me to be a success at Rangers. But hopefully I can cope with that, get off to a flyer and do really well here."

McCoist has stuck rigidly to a 4-4-1-1 formation since succeeding Walter Smith as Rangers boss two years ago.

Clark, however, tended to be part of a two-man front line during his time as a player at both Peterhead and Queens.

The former Aberdeen kid, though, is confident he can lead the line by himself if called upon to do so by his new manager in the 2013/14 campaign.

"I played a lot of times with two up front with Queen of the South, but I have played in attack by myself on occasion as well," he said.

"I can play as a lone striker if need be. I have always enjoyed doing that. I am quite comfortable with the system I will be coming into. At the end of the day, I'll play wherever the manager wants me to."

Clark has played, and scored, at Ibrox already in his embryonic career. He netted the opening goal of the game when Queen of the South took on Rangers in a Ramsdens Cup showdown back in September.

The young striker is looking forward to sampling the unique atmosphere of the Govan ground on a more regular basis and scoring for his new club.

He recalled: "It was a good night. Hopefully there are many more of them to come for me at Ibrox – only this time it will be in a Rangers top.

"Before the Ramsdens Cup tie I was in the tunnel and I could hear the noise of the crowd. I had goosebumps playing in such an atmosphere. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up.

"To get the chance to play at Ibrox in front of up to 50,000 people every other week is amazing. There could be no better place for me to further my career."

Clark predicts that playing in front of such large crowds with such accomplished team-mates will help him to develop into a stronger and more rounded professional.

He said: "I definitely think I will be able to learn off the players at the club, the internationalists especially, and improve as a player myself.

"Lee McCulloch has got a lot of international caps and has played in the Premier League in England with Wigan and at the highest level in Europe with Rangers. I can only benefit from playing with him.

"I saw last week that the club have signed Jon Daly as well. He is a vastly experienced player and I will learn from playing with him.

"I have been delighted to see the calibre of players they have signed. The new signings have all played in the SPL. I am just delighted to be a part of that.

"It will be really hard to come in to a place like this and get into the team. But hopefully I can do exactly that."

Like fellow new signings Cammy Bell, Jon Daly and Nicky Law, Clark has been accused of lacking ambition by moving to Rangers by some detractors.

He helped Queen of the South storm to the Second Division title last season – but instead of helping their assault in the First Division he will be back where he started.

However, the player has dismissed those accusations and stressed his intention is to help the Light Blues return to their place in the Scottish top flight and Europe.

"The club's history and its fanbase are incredible," he enthused. "Last season they got 45,000 people here every other week.

"If you don't want to come to Rangers then there is something wrong with you. I just want to be part of the journey back to where the club belongs – in the SPL and in Europe.

"Signing a three-year deal should hopefully enable me to do that. In my career I have only signed one-year deals up until now. So I am really pleased to have something long-term agreed.

"There were a couple of other options available to me. There were clubs up here and clubs down south interested. But when Rangers came in there was only one place I wanted to go to."

His father, currently No.2 to Allan Johnston at Queens, was enthusiastic about the prospect of his son moving to Ibrox.

Clark said: "My dad has been a player here and knows what it is all about. He gave me a big help in making my decision. He was very keen for me to come here as well."

Going to play clubs like Ayr, Forfar and Stranraer will be a step into the unknown for McCoist and the majority of his players next season.

But Clark will know exactly what to expect given his exploits in the last 10 months, and is confident that the Gers will do well.

The PFA Scotland Second Division Player of the Year commented: "When you are playing at this level you have to adapt to going to difficult away grounds and playing on difficult pitches.

"But I did it last season and I'm sure I will be able to again. There are experienced lads in the team and there are young boys here as well. I am sure we will do well next season, develop and grow as a unit."