Aluko thrilled with Rangers switch

Nigerian winger Sone Aluko has expressed his joy at finally completing his transfer to Scottish Premier League holders Rangers.

Aluko had been on trial with Ally McCoist’s team before completing his switch from Aberdeen on a short-term deal until the end of this season.

He told Blues News: “It’s good to be here. It was great to get everything sorted out and as soon as I got the opportunity to come here, it was what I wanted.”

“Anyone who has played in Scotland for longer than five minutes knows all about Rangers and Celtic and this is the biggest team in the country in my opinion.”

“I had three days to wait before I actually got to come here for my trial so I’d had a chance to calm down by the time I arrived.”

“I’ve not played a lot in the last four months but I knew that if I got an opportunity like this I had to be ready for it so I’ve kept working hard.”

Aluko even agreed to contribute his own money to the compensation package Rangers agreed with Aberdeen to ensure the transfer was completed.

“There was a bit of a stand-off between the clubs for a while over compensation and that could have dragged on with tribunals and all the rest,” he added.

“But at some point someone is going to have to compromise and make a sacrifice and I’m the one who did that.”

“I’ve almost bent over backwards to be here. Once I got the chance, I was adamant I wanted to be at Rangers and I can’t thank the people around me enough for helping me get here.”

There is an option to extend Aluko’s deal by a further two years should he impress over the remainder of this season and the winger declared himself available for action immediately.

“Now I’m ready to play if the manager needs me. I’ll do that any time and although I’m a bit behind the boys, I’ll do my best and give my all,” he said.

Rangers are seven points clear of their Old Firm rivals Celtic and although Neil Lennon’s side have closed the gap, first team coach Iain Durrant appeared calm.

“If you had said at the start of the season that in November we would be seven points in front of Celtic, we would have bitten your hand off for it,” Durrant said.

“Seven points is still a big margin to make up and we are enjoying it.”

“Celtic have a hard programme coming up again with the Europa League and we just have to take advantage of any slip-ups.”

“Now it’s Celtic’s turn to play the game before us and we’ve just got to react in the right way. We’ve got a tough game against Kilmarnock but we are looking forward to it.”