Former Rangers star Glenn Middleton is hell-bent on making a telling impact at Dundee United as he aims to rediscover his best form at Tannadice.
The 22-year-old is aiming to thrive in the City of Discovery after joining on a permanent deal from Rangers. And the former Ibrox winger is aiming to push on after being unable to continue his teenage exploits under Steven Gerrard 's tutelage. Middleton was a regular during the Liverpool icon's first season but struggled to cement his Ibrox status after a series of loan moves followed.
But Middleton isn't giving himself a hard time over his Rangers exploits and believes his time had come to leave the Europa League finalists. Speaking to The Courier, he said: “I’m very grateful for all the opportunities I got at Rangers but there comes a time when you need to push on and that time is now. I’m very proud of my time there. Maybe sometimes I don’t realise that I was only 18 when I was doing what I was doing — playing in Europe and starting for Rangers in the Premiership. Not many 18-year-olds can say that.
“However, I can’t just say that for the rest of my career. I need to move on and show everyone why I was in that position in the first place. The first few days at United have been amazing and I just keep saying to myself, ‘this is me; this is my club’. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy my loan spells. I learned so much and became a better player and a better person. But knowing that I won’t be going somewhere else for a good few years is a nice feeling and gives me something to build from.
"If you don’t believe you can reach those levels, then this game isn’t for you. I’m very ambitious and that’s why I needed to be settled somewhere. You can’t play to your best and achieve your goals if you are always changing; you can only ever show glimpses. Now it’s about getting that consistency back in my game and showing people what I can do.”
And the Scotland U21 star is relishing another European experience to rival those he enjoyed during his time at Ibrox and with St Johnstone. And Middleton sees no reason why United can't aim for a result against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
He said: “We aren’t going into this game thinking, ‘oh, it’s a great one-off game. We believe we can win and progress. That should be the target for everyone. The platform is massive. You want to reach those levels and test yourself against top teams and top players. I played against LASK for St Johnstone and, looking further back, played in Europe for Rangers so I do have a bit of experience on that front.
“We’ll treat AZ with respect — as we do with every team — but I don’t feel like you should go into any game feeling like the underdogs or feeling like you can’t get a result. You are in the wrong sport if that’s your mentality.”
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