King inspired by Rangers man who 'would do well in goals' as he seeks game time

Leon King doesn’t know if his long-term future lies with Rangers. But he is certain that he wants it to. So, if Philippe Clement asks him to play anywhere on the field, he is ready to answer the call.

The 20-year-old centre back has had to bide his time for a chance under the Belgian manager, being handed his first start in a year in the 5-2 win over Dundee on Tuesday night.

He is candid enough to admit that it didn’t go quite as he had dreamed it, holding his hands up to his culpability for Dundee’s opening goal as a spot of miscommunication between himself and Ridvan Yilmaz allowed Jordan McGhee to put the visitors ahead.

It wasn’t the best of circumstances for King to come into, in fairness to him. A host of injuries had handed him his opportunity, but left Rangers weakened right across the team. Added to that, an already scunnered home support off the back of the weekend defeat to Celtic were about ready to storm the pitch when Tony Docherty’s men added a quickfire second.

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All’s well that ends well, though, and both King and Rangers eventually steadied themselves to turn the evening around, as scant a consolation in the context of the league as that may turn out to be.

For the youngster, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances were, all that mattered was that he was able to pull on the jersey and play at Ibrox once again.

And King – who has also operated at right back and in a defensive midfield role - is taking inspiration from the likes of Dujon Sterling, who has applied himself well in numerous positions for Rangers this season, as he tries to plot a route towards more regular game time for the club.

"Definitely,” King said. “He has been amazing all season.

"I think if he was put in goals he would do well there as well. He has been great, and I have loved training with Duj all season.

"I don't really think in modern day football you are stuck to one position as such. I think you need to be able to play in more than one position, it gives you a better chance as well.

“If the manager wants me to play anywhere else, I will play there."

King’s desperation for minutes is understandable when you consider how steep the fall off in his appearances has been. Having become something of a regular fixture in and around the first team last season, he had appeared from the bench just four times this term before Tuesday evening, and never before the 85th minute.

He admits that it hasn’t been easy watching on from the sidelines, but he has tempered his disappointment with the knowledge that both he and the Rangers coaching staff are investing the time in his development behind the scenes to ensure he can become the best player he possibly can.

"It has been tough, but everybody has been great,” he said.

“The coaching staff, the players have been amazing, learning off them every day and playing in different positions, just trying to take in to games what I have been doing in training.

"It is hard but again that's football. At a club like Rangers especially you're not going to expect to play every single game, every single minute.

"It is about biding your time, working hard in training and taking your chance when you get it."

Given his paltry playing time this season, it might be perceived that Rangers manager Clement is far from convinced by the Scotland under-21 international, but King says he has the backing of his boss and that their conversations have been constructive.

"All the talks have been very positive,” he said.

"It is just about biding my time and when I get it to take it with both hands.

"I have been training and playing in different positions which is only going to benefit myself.

"I will play wherever the manager wants me to play and hopefully more often.

"He is a big believer in if you train well, you will get your chance. I have seen that, so I am happy in that sense.

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“[There is] still a long way to go, [I’m] still at the start of my career. I just need to bide my time and keep working hard.

"I obviously want to be at this club so hopefully I progress."

King is hoping that the win over Dundee is the first step to shaking off the disappointment of falling just short in the title race, and attention now turns to fully blowing away any lingering negativity by wreaking revenge on Celtic when the teams face off again in the Scottish Cup Final a week on Saturday.

"It was huge to bounce back,” he said.

“No one at this clubs likes to get beat, it is not what we are about. We are about winning games and winning trophies.

"Ultimately we need to play better. We have a massive end to the season coming up with the cup final so it is just about building momentum and confidence going into that.

“That's what the boys in training get everybody up for. That's the games you want to play in for this club and ultimately winning trophies. If the manager calls upon me, I will be ready.

"It is a massive aim but ultimately we would like to win more trophies. At the end of the season if we walk away with two, we will probably say we probably could have three.

"But at the end of the day we still have a job to do, and we still need to win that cup final."