KIRK BROADFOOT put pen to paper on a new three year deal with Rangers in the summer of 2010 after three successful seasons with the Light Blues.

A foot injury and the exceptional form of Steven Whittaker kept Broadfoot out of Walter Smith's starting line up for much of the season running up to his new contract.

However he had shown enough in his three campaigns under Smith to earn a new deal with the club he supported as a boy.

In the 2008/09 season his impressive form for Rangers earned him a call up to the Scottish national side under George Burley.

He won his first cap against Iceland and took just 19 minutes of his debut to score Scotland's first goal when he headed home Barry Robson's free kick.

That helped Scotland to a 2-1 win and Broadfoot continued his regular appearances for club and country until his season was ended by injury in the League Cup Final.

He later admitted that he shouldn't have played in the Hampden showdown with Celtic having collected a foot injury earlier that year against the same opposition.

And it proved a costly mistake with the injury forcing the defender on to the sidelines for much of the remainder of 2009.

It was a huge disappointment for the man who had quickly established himself in a debut season at Ibrox that saw him appear in every match of Rangers' run to the UEFA Cup final and pick up his first medal as a League Cup winner in March of 2008.

It was a dream start at Ibrox for the defender who began his senior career with St Mirren after failing to settle as an apprentice at Hibernian.

He moved to Love Street aged 17 and in five years progressed from the role of fringe player to talismanic captain and fans' favourite.

Although keeping clean sheets was always his priority, Broadfoot combined that role with a desire to entertain and notched 13 goals during his five seasons in Paisley.

In one notable cameo he won the raucous approval of the St Mirren supporters - if not his manager - when he stood on the ball and saluted in the manner of ex-Ger Andrei Kanchelskis in a league match against St Johnstone.

During his time at Love Street he helped St Mirren win the Challenge Cup and First Division title and then played a large part in Gus MacPherson's side maintaining their SPL status in season 2006/07.

His form also earned him a call-up to the Scotland B side for the friendly match with Finland in February 2007, and ultimately his move to Rangers.