JAMES Penrice once walked through the Rangers Training Centre in his younger days as an Academy player, and the full-back says his return to the club today is a dream moment in his career.
The 27-year-old will spend the campaign at Ibrox after joining on a season-long loan, with an option to buy, from AEK Athens, and he insists he’s raring to go in a Rangers jersey.
He’s well aware of what’s required at the club and believes his knowledge of the Scottish game will stand him in good stead.
Speaking in his first interview with RangersTV, he said of his brief spell in the youth ranks at the club: “It wasn’t too long. I was very young and it ended up not working out.
“At that age it’s what happens in football, but that was back then and I’m focussing on the here and now.
“I was very young and you’re a million miles away from being a professional at that age.
“It’s been a long time since I came through the building here as a youth player, but I’m delighted to finally get it done.
“I’m over the moon to finally be here, and it’s been a long couple of weeks trying to get it sorted.
“It’s somewhere where at the start of my career I could only have dreamt of coming to play. It’s a dream now to get the chance to represent the club.
“I’ve been involved in Scotland for a while and you know what comes with the name.
“There’s only one objective and that’s to win. When you don’t, there comes pressure, so I’m fully aware of what is expected here.”
Penrice eventually emerged through the Partick Thistle youth system before making the switch to Livingston and enjoying three years with the West Lothian outfit in the top-flight.
He impressed sufficiently at Livi to earn a move to Hearts, where his solitary campaign ended with the full-back scooping the Players’ Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the Year awards.
AEK Athens of Greece soon came calling, with Penrice taking the leap and helping the side to a league championship last term.
He continued: “I was in a real good vein of form at Hearts.
“It was a very good personal season, but at the same I had to go and take the jump.
“I couldn’t turn down the chance to play for AEK. I’m thankful that I done that because it was an unbelievable experience, and some players can go through their full career without winning a league.
“They helped with this move too so I’m thankful to them.
“The move abroad? It’s been difficult and I’m not shying away from that.
"It was really hard being away from family for the first time in my career, and being the age that I am I’m used to Scotland.
“It was something totally different moving to a new country and culture, but it can only help me as a person. I’m thankful that I managed to do that year there.
“It’s given me a different outlook on football with players coming into building who have come from different countries.
“I can appreciate those players more who have moved from different countries.
"I feel my time in Greece was very successful and we won the league, so it was a brilliant experience.
“I played in the Premiership for a number of years so I feel like I know every team. Even being away for a year I was still watching every game and following the league.”
Penrice admits the first piece of interest from Rangers came back in the January transfer window.
And now that he’s signed on the dotted line, the full-back says his full focus is on making an instant impact for the club.
He added: “It was spoken about in January and it was quite close. It ended up not working out.
“But as soon as it came to the summer and there was a bit of a sniff my full focus was on getting it done.
“My family are probably more relieved than I am as they’ve had to put up with me for a couple of weeks.
“My conversations with the manager? It was brief because it was obviously ongoing.
“I spoke to him today and we spoke about where we are and the plan going forward, but it’s been about the here and now and just focussing on the next game.
“We’re not looking too much into the future just now. The full focus is on the game tomorrow and we’ll be looking to get through.”
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