Senderos eyeing long-term Rangers deal after finally signing on dotted line

It has taken two weeks of training and the 11th hour collapse of a deal for Joleon Lescott for the Swiss international to sign a deal which lasts until the end of the current campaign but the 31-year-old does not plan on being a one-season wonder.

“I have only signed for a year at Rangers but I hope I can extend that," said the former Arsenal, AC Milan and Valencia defender.

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"I feel I can play for another five or six years. I’m very hungry. I love playing football. I has been my passion since I was a kid. I love the day-to-day thing of working every day in training. As long as I have this hunger and desire I will continue playing for as long as my body will allow me."

Senderos is a defender by trade and he demonstrated the art yesterday by saying he couldn't understand the criticism which has been heading in the direction of the club's existing central defenders this season. Clint Hill and Rob Kiernan received flak for the part they played in the 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock a week ago while Danny Wilson hasn't been spared either. While Senderos feels his experience can be of worth to the team, he feels some of the stick has been over the top.

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“I can’t understand the criticism as the team is unbeaten this season," said Senderos. "They have done really well, although of course the expectation is very high at a club like Rangers. Everyone expects us to to be beating every team in every single game but the story of football is not like this. You are actually playing against an opposition who always want to beat and do well against Rangers. So the lads have done really well.

“What can I bring to the table?" he added. "I have some experience and I hope I can help around the place. I can give my all and hopefully do well for Rangers."

The Swiss international's last club was Grasshoppers of Zurich so perhaps it is understandable that he jumped at the chance to join a 'big club' like Rangers again. Since leaving Servette for Arsenal as a teenager, big clubs across Europe have been queuing up to sign a ball playing central defender who has graced four major finals for his country.

“The big selling point was being back at a big club," he said. "I had the opportunity to go to other places but I refused. I was waiting for something and when I had the opportunity to come up here and train I thought this was my chance to show I was in good shape and it happened.

“Playing for a top team like Rangers was a big factor for me and the manger gave me a lot of confidence with the way he wants to play and the ideas he has going forward because they are the same as mine," Senderos added. "It is the start of something special here. Rangers being back in the Premiership is a big thing and being here at the beginning of this is very exciting."

The reason he moved back to his home country earlier this year was a bid to get the nod for Euro 2016 - but national team boss Vladimir Petkovi? had other ideas. While he knows that excelling for Rangers could re-ignite his international career, Senderos simply wants to concentrate on putting in consistent performances for his club. He spent this summer without a club, training with a personal trainer in London.

“It was a disappointment that I was not picked for Euro 2016," he said. "The reason I went back to Switzerland last season was to try to make the squad. I was selected and I played in a friendly but unfortunately the coach decided to pick someone else.

“It was a disappointment for me for sure because I had been at four big tournaments and it’s been a big part of my career playing for Switzerland so it was a shame," he added. "I don’t know if playing well for Rangers will get me back into the squad. It’s difficult to say. We will see. I'm going to work as hard as I can and train and play as hard as I can and hopefully the coach thinks about me. But I’m going to focus on Rangers first and then see what happens."

Not only did Senderos play at Ibrox in the colours of AC Milan in a friendly in 2009, he has been around long enough to play against a few of his team-mates. Having captured just the FA Cup and the Community Shield in his time in English football he would dearly love the chance to claim some silverware. “I played against Kenny Miller and I have also played against Niko Krancjar and Joey Barton so I know a few of the lads," he said. “The quality of the squad is great and everyone puts in a shift in training. If we can replicate that in the games it will be great because everyone works very hard."