McGregor, Whittaker sign Rangers deals

McGregor, Whittaker sign Rangers deals

Published Jul. 5, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Allan McGregor and Steven Whittaker both hope to finish their respective careers at Rangers after signing long-term contracts for the Ibrox club.

Light Blues goalkeeper McGregor, 29, who came through the youth ranks at the Govan club, confirmed that he has penned a new six-year deal.

Whittaker, 27, recently the subject of several rejected bids from Turkish club Bursaspor, signed on for another five years.

Asked if his new contract would effectively make him a Ranger for life, McGregor replied: "It looks that way, yes.

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"This should take me until I'm 35 and hopefully I can stay a wee bit longer, you never know.

"I have been here all my life so there was no hiding the fact that I wanted to stay.

"I'm just really glad that I have signed.

"It's good for the club and it's good for me and I just want to repay them by putting in good consistent performances, week after week.''

Asked if he would like to see out his time at Ibrox, Whittaker concurred with his team-mate.

"Yes, I would love to,'' said the Scotland defender, who cost Rangers £2million from Hibernian in 2007.

"Five years is a long time. Allan and I appreciate the lengths of contracts and we will do everything we can to be successful and give the club back what they deserve.

"I spoke to the manager (Ally McCoist) and he was fully aware that Bursaspor were there but he said I wasn't for sale and they had no intention of me going anywhere.

"I was quite happy with that and obviously I signed a deal to prove it.

"It was a matter of negotiating and we have managed to come to an agreement.

"I'm delighted to sign a long-term deal and commit my future to the club.''

McGregor has been constantly linked with a move to the Barclays Premier League with Aston Villa most recently reportedly interested.

However, the Scotland number one insists winning trophies at Rangers as well as the chance to play European football on a regular basis, meant leaving the Scottish champions was never an option.

"I never heard anything concrete (about interest from other clubs).

"As I said before, I never said I wanted to leave and I'm delighted that I signed. I just want to keep winning.

"I said that at the end of last season, I love that feeling of winning for this club.

"The feeling of wining the league, I don't think you can get that anywhere else to be honest.

"I want it to continue and hopefully it can for the next six years.

"Playing in Europe is obviously totally different from the league, you are playing against the best players in the world.

"It is a good thing for the club and I think we deserve to be playing on the biggest stage.''

Whittaker, whose versatility has made him a key player at Ibrox, is also keen to add to his medal collection.

"I have been here for four years now and the last few years we have been successful,'' he said.

"I enjoy winning trophies and obviously I want to continue doing that over the next few years.''

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