Connor Goldson hit out at talk of him lacking commitment to Rangers while speculation surrounded his future as his contract ticked down last season.
The 29-year-old penned a four-year Ibrox extension following the expiration of his previous deal but many felt the former Brighton & Hove Albion stopper was destined for the exit after four years with the Light Blues. Goldson’s future was the centre of intense speculation during various parts of the season, with former boss Steven Gerrard often being forced to address the situation. Rangers legend Brian Laudrup claimed it would have had an impact on Goldson’s performances having been in a similar situation himself during his time at Ibrox.
But the defender kept silent despite some social media criticism and as he reflected on that period. He told Sky Sports: “A lot of things got blown out of proportion on social media last season and there were so many fake things that I didn’t comment on and literally none of it was true.
“I said all along that it wasn’t like I was running down my contract to move and I just needed time to think about it. At the end of the season I didn’t want to rush into anything and make a decision when we had such big football matches.
“I went away for a week with my family in the summer, spoke about it with my wife, and our decision was made up within a few days that I was going to sign at Rangers. My wife has lived away from home for four years and doesn’t really have any help here so it’s not only a football decision - I have to look after my family and children.
“We had to speak about it at length and go into discussions but we made the decision together that she was okay to stay and football-wise I was always happy here. I’ve always been happy here, it’s a massive football club and a great club to be at, and I love the feeling of having to win and the pressure that is demanded from the fans and the football club itself. I’m happy the decision has been made and I’m happy to be settled for another four years.”
Goldson admitted it was mixed emotions last season after reaching, and losing, the Europa League final and surrendering their league crown but he wants to hit the ground running with new defensive addition John Souttar from Hearts and make up for last season’s exit to Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers.
He added: “Last season was good in some ways and bad in others. The European run is something we’ll remember forever but we lost the league title and have to do everything we can to win it back.
“We need to all come together. The season is a long and tough road. We played 65 games last season as a club. From the outside you might just think it's a game of football every three days but when you have to do it every three days week in, week out it gets difficult so we need a squad to cope with that and hopefully the new boys will help us with that.
“Last season it didn’t go as planned (in the Champions League) but this year after the run we had in Europe the Champions League has to be the next step we want to take and we’ll be working as hard as we can in pre-season to be ready for the qualifiers.
“It’s tough going into the qualifiers so early because you’ve had the break and you lose match sharpness and fitness. It depends who you play - last season it was Malmo who were midway through their season so it becomes a whole different ball game but we had an amazing Europa League run and beat teams who are Champions League opposition so we should go into it with confidence.
“The league is tough every year, a 38-game season and we know you can’t drop many points. Realistically, the winner of the league will be 90, 95 points so out of the games you play you can’t afford to drop many. We had a slight dip after Christmas and that hurt us last season because we started and finished the season well so you can’t afford those dips and we have to be as consistent as we can throughout the season.”
Souttar is a new face in the backline but Gers retained old favourite Allan McGregor with the evergreen keeper signing a new deal. Goldson said: “I played against John a few times last season and he looked good and I’ve spoken to a few people. I’ve got a friend at Hearts I used to play with and he said he’s a top player and a few other boys here who played within at Scotland said the same.
“Some players you click with right away and others you need to work at it but we won’t know until we’ve played a few games or after a few weeks. But we’ve got time, the pre-season to work on, and then we’ll be straight into it thick and fast so I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
McGregor has dished out a few blasts to his team-mates but Goldson said: “It’s actually weird, Allan isn’t that much of a shouter as people think but just to be around the place, his experience and he understands the demands and what’s expected of every single player to be at this football club so it was important to keep him here and characters like that in the dressing room.”
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