Rangers ace fires warning at established stars after grabbing his chance with both hands

Rangers summer signing Emmanuel Fernandez is determined to grab his chance at Ibrox after an inauspicious start, sending a warning to regular starters in his position in the process.

The towering centre-back was signed from Peterborough in the summer for a reported fee of around £3million, but appeared just twice under previous boss Russell Martin.

It actually took injuries to John Souttar and Derek Cornelius for him to make his first start under new Rangers chief Danny Rohl against Livingston at Ibrox on Saturday.

Fernandez made an early impression by heading in from a James Tavernier corner as the Ibrox outfit rode their luck before edging to a 2-1 victory thanks to Mohamed Diomande.

That made it four league wins in a row Rangers, with Fernandez now switching his focus to the Europa League clash with Braga at Ibrox on Thursday night.

He said: “I have confidence in myself and belief in myself to be better and play good.

“Obviously they’ve [Souttar and Cornelius] gone out injured and there’s been a lot of competition recently. They’re very good players. International players.

“I have got to take my opportunity. If I am playing on Thursday, I have got to take it and grab it with my hands.

“That would be my first European game and I can’t wait to put my stamp on the game and show what I can do.”

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No Fernandez regrets over Rangers move

Despite a frustrating start to his time in Govan, Fernandez insists that he has no regrets about moving north of the border.

He added: “No, never. And that’s the thing about football, you always be in uncomfortable situations and it’s how you get through them.

“So you have to just get through the receiving end of them and see how it goes because there’s not many clubs that you’ll go to, especially when you’re stepping up a level, where you’re going to play straight away.

“So you have to wait for your turn, and then hopefully when you get your chance, you take it.

“Obviously, it’s tough (not playing), but it’s something I’ve experienced before in my old team, it makes you grow as a person.

“And obviously, over periods, you just have to train hard, work hard, and that’s going to hopefully get you in the team in the future.”

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