RANGERS' latest signing Madjid Bougherra has revealed just how close he came to joining West Bromwich Albion before being lured north by the thought of European football, writes Moira Gordon.
"I had wanted to stay in the Premier League," said the 25-year-old former Charlton defender, "and I was at West Brom's training ground on Wednesday and had the pen in my hand to sign, but the chairman wasn't there and they asked me to come back the n
ext day. If the chairman had been there I would have signed but, on the way back, the gaffer called me to tell me about Rangers and I chose Glasgow."
Impressed by his chat with Walter Smith, he had his gut instincts confirmed when he called his fellow Algerian international Brahim Hemdani. "It's when you say Champions League or Uefa Cup, that's what makes me happy. That's why I chose Glasgow."
Following the volte face, Tony Mowbray called to wish him well, but the £2.5m centre half knows that gaining a regular place in the Rangers starting XI is no formality. "When you come to a team you can't say you will play every week. You have to do well in training and then it's the gaffer's choice."
The only one of Rangers' nine substitutes not to get some action yesterday, he said he was willing to be patient and, having missed the signing deadline for the qualifying round of the Champions League, he will have to be when it comes to experiencing the European football which proved such a draw for him.
While his new team-mates travel to Lithuania for the second leg of their second round qualifier against FB Kaunas, he will stay in Glasgow to train ahead of the SPL opener next weekend, when he hopes to make his debut at Falkirk.
The full article contains 310 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
