JAMES TAVERNIER is determined to repay Mark Warburton’s faith in him by proving he was right to hand him a new Ibrox deal.
The right-back signed on the dotted line last month as he agreed fresh terms to keep him at Rangers until the summer of 2019.
Tavernier was instrumental for Warburton’s side as they won the Championship title and Petrofac Training Cup last term and now he wants to shine in the top flight.
He said: “I was very pleased. My commitment to this club is 100 per cent.
“I want to stay here and I want to be here for the long run and get Champions League football, which is where the club needs to be.
“To put pen-to-paper and sign a new deal, that is what I really wanted to do. The club have shown great faith in me by offering it.
“You get that and obviously the media attention up here is a lot more intense than down in England.
“Every contract situation always goes through the same process of negotiating and sometimes it gets taken into the wrong context and gets put out there. I have signed my contract now so I am delighted.
“I have still got lots to prove. I showed what I was capable of in the Championship and now I want to show what I am capable of in the Premiership. That is what I am really looking forward to doing.”
Tavernier has started the campaign alongside Lee Wallace as Warburton’s first choice full-backs in recent weeks.
But he reckons the arrival of Lee Hodson will help bring out the best in him during the Gers’ bid for the Premiership title.
“It definitely helps me out, 100 per cent, and obviously Waldo as well,” Tavernier told RangersTV.
“You see the competition throughout the whole squad now. We have got a lot of attackers, a lot of midfielders, a lot of defenders and Gilksy has come in with Wes for extra competition.
“Lee coming in only adds more competition, which is great. It makes everyone more hungry, it makes myself more hungry and it makes you push on to another level.”
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