The Scotland international became the first signing of the summer transfer window, joining from Hearts on an initial two-year deal, and admitted it felt like a long time coming with previous links to the club.
Speaking in an exclusive first interview with RangersTV, he said: “I am delighted to get this opportunity, it feels like a long time coming to be honest, the amount of times I’ve been rumoured with it, but I am just delighted to get it done and to be a Rangers player.
“A lot of hard graft has gone in to get to this point, and I want to come here and be a successful Rangers player.
“The club is in a position where they want to get back to winning silverware more regularly. I want to be a big part of that, and that's what I come here to do.”
Having spent the past four seasons at Hearts and captaining them in recent campaigns, Shankland says his time in Edinburgh had a big impact on his career.
He continued: “The last two or three years have been huge in terms of development of the leadership side. Obviously, it’s not easy to be captain, Hearts are another big club, and there are a lot of pressures as well.
“It's a responsibility I feel I've dealt with pretty well. There have been a couple of tough moments in there as well with Hearts that we had to deal with and come through.
“When you come to make the decision to leave, it's never easy. It was a bit easier, the fact that it's obviously Rangers, but listen, Hearts have been a huge part of my life for the last four years, and I’ll always be grateful to them for the opportunities they gave me.”
Shankland revealed he spent time in Rangers Academy at the age of 12, winning a youth tournament in Italy before being released. He explained: “That resilience, coming from a working-class family, is kind of built into you from an early age, and I think I have just always naturally had it. I always wanted to be a footballer, and you know, you are going to get knocks along the way - Rangers was actually one of them when I was really young.
“I think I was under-12’s, and we went to Italy and won a tournament. That is a fond memory from my youth, but I am delighted to be here now and be here a bit more long-term.
“When you are young, those kinds of things mould you for the future, you get those learning experiences. It was similar with Hearts as well, I was there as a kid and ended up back there too.”
Before meeting up with his Rangers teammates, Shankland is heading to the World Cup this summer with Scotland, and says it might take a while for these few weeks to sink in.
He added: “You always want to be part of your national team, especially when there’s a major tournament coming. Obviously, I picked up the injury near the end of last season, but I knew I just had to get myself in a position to bounce back.
“I came back really well, in really good form, and thankfully I’ve got myself in the squad, so it's going to be a brilliant experience.
“I just need to take it in my stride for now, and when the moment comes to reflect on it, I will do, but I'm just looking forward to obviously going to the World Cup first and then getting back here to get started.”
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