GEDION ZELALEM is confident he can handle the rough and tumble of Scottish football and continue to be the centre of attention at Rangers this season.

The midfielder has impressed in his four appearances for Mark Warburton’s side since joining the Gers on loan from Arsenal last month.

He has made an instant impact in Light Blue as he has slotted into a central berth and shown glimpses of why Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has high hopes for him for the future.

Zelalem helped Rangers to their tenth successive win with a 3-0 triumph over Livingston last weekend and will head to Dumbarton this afternoon aiming to maintain Rangers’ advantage at the top of the Championship standings.

The 18-year-old is pleased to be catching the eye and making a name for himself north of the border as he looks to improve his game ahead of his Emirates return.

“I didn’t expect the attention, a lot of people said I would get asked for autographs and pictures but I just thought “Ah ok” and didn’t think it would happen,” Zelalem told rangers.co.uk

“But everywhere you go you bump into fans and see them appreciating you so it is really good – I like that part of it.

“A lot of people said Scottish football would be tough and physical but I haven’t really found it that difficult because my game is all about one touch, two touch, so I don’t even try to get into physical battles because that’s not part of my game.

“I thought last Saturday that one of the midfielders was really tight on me all the time and I found it hard to make space for myself.

“But you see Messi and I’m sure teams try and stop him playing but it doesn’t stop him so I’ll have to get used to that.

“I like the pressure of expectation and I like the spotlight and I expect that from myself so it doesn’t affect me.”