Football: Advocaat happy to stay

DICK ADVOCAAT, the Rangers manager, yesterday hinted that he may be ready to extend his current Ibrox contract which is due to expire at the end of next season.

The Dutchman has also clarified last week's well-publicised remarks which gave the false impression that he found Glasgow life depressing.

Advocaat yesterday outlined how settled he feels at Rangers and reaffirmed his ambition of achieving long-term success for the club. He said: "I feel I am just at the start here at Rangers. We are building a firm base and when David Murray [the Rangers chairman] wants to discuss my contract, I will be happy to do so. I made a commitment when I signed and I am thinking in the long-term with my plans for the team. There is absolutely no reason for people to suggest I'm leaving within the year.

"We want to improve the club for more than one year, it is a three to five-year plan."

Last week Advocaat told a Dutch magazine it always seemed to be dark in Scotland, but yesterday explained that this was merely a result of his long working hours. "What I was saying was that when we start in the morning, it's dark, and when we go home, it's dark because we arrive at around 8am and finish around 6pm at night.

"I just wanted to give the impression of how hard we all work here at Rangers, not just me but everyone. The fact I've not seen the countryside is because I have been so involved with the club."