Jelavic: I am sticking with Rangers for chance to win more trophies

Lisa Gray
Saturday 08 October 2011 00:00 BST
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Nikica Jelavic admits he would love to play in England one day but has assured Rangers fans he has no plans to quit their club just yet. The striker was the subject of a £6.5m bid from Leicester City, and reported interest from Fenerbahce, in the summer but the Scottish champions were able to retain his services.

Jelavic believes Rangers will retain the title this season and revealed how the prospect of more silverware ensured he would remain at Ibrox. "In all honesty, I am very happy here," the Croatian told Rangers Monthly.

"While there was a good offer from Leicester, that is not a club I want to move on to if I am to leave. Fenerbahce's proposal was really interesting but I wanted to stay at Rangers because we have a very good chance of winning the title again this season. At the moment, I'm really not thinking about any new clubs. I enjoy it in Glasgow, my family are happy here too and I still have three years on my contract.

"For me, the best league in Europe is in England and I would like to play there one day, although Spain and Germany are also very attractive. It is natural that I should want to play in the best competitions, and it would be nice to do that at some point, but I'm really not thinking about any of that at the moment."

Jelavic netted an impressive 19 goals in his debut campaign despite spending almost four months on the sidelines through injury. His tally stands at six this season and, although conceding he was slow off the mark, the striker insists he has even more to offer this term.

He said: "There is still lots of scope for progression and improvement. With every new year, you need to get better. You might start a season and get the first five games in the side because of what you did in the last campaign but if you're not scoring you will be out again.

"I feel I need to prove myself all over again... Hopefully I can keep [scoring]. I am starting to feel better because I didn't start this season the way I wanted to. I am not so satisfied with my form overall but it is getting there now. I had a few little injuries before but, game by game, I hope to be better than I was last season."

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton this week claimed Rangers were fragile and that injury to a key player, such as Jelavic, could scupper their season.

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