Leon Balogun addresses Ibrox situation and Rangers title vow

Here is everything he had to say.

On facing Hearts on the opening day.

I think it's a game you need to prepare for really well. Hearts is normally one of the stronger teams in the league so I think it's a perfect start to see where we're at at that point in time. Obviously, we have something to make up for and we want to have a good start to the season. Not an easy one, necessarily so I'll take that.

What is it about Rangers that really draws you to it?

Steven Gerrard was the one who drew me here first and I never really wanted to go away. It happened and then I came back. I said it before, it's kind of my spiritual home, I feel at home here. I have a great relationship with everyone at the club, my teammates and supporters as well. There's not much more to say, it's an amazing club, it's a massive club. You play for titles, you play European football, there's not much more that it takes to convince me.

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What has the manager said to convince you that you can challenge?

There wasn't much for him to convince me because I know what this club is about and that is to be the best. That's what we have to prove.

What has to change to compete with Celtic?

I think that's something we have to work on throughout pre-season to have that shift in mentality. We need to build more confidence, that's a process that you need to work on every day by repetition mainly and gaining confidence in what you're doing. Obviously, pre-season friendlies are a vital part of that and Hearts is a really good way to start the season to see how far we've got and what we've still to do throughout the season.

Is it about striking a balance the way you galvanised last season and when the pressure kicked in, you never handled it as well as you could've done?

Probably, that's the most vital part to look at because we did give them a good race in the end. There was a title race, I think it's fair to say that both teams weren't at their best throughout the whole season which probably made it that tight in the end. But again, they had that edge over us and that's what we need to focus on specifically. It might be pressure, mentality or confidence but whatever it is we have to make sure we get it out of the system during pre-season. The earlier the better and then get off to a good start.

How important is it that you beat Celtic?

If you want to be the champion you have to beat that team which is our rival. It was a race between us two and it was a stumbling stone last season. We have to make sure it's not one again this season.

Do you feel you have a role to play in helping players understand what it takes to be successful here?

I've been at the club long enough to understand what this club is about. There are many other players in the dressing room as well who know about it. I think the manager himself will have a vital part to play in that as well. He's very meticulous in the way he goes about things and he's going to make sure that this is in everybody's mind, for sure. I guess it's just my age factor, my experience are things that I just have to do it but I embrace the role, I like it actually. I like to speak to players outside of the pitch as well and just make sure that, most importantly, they feel well because there is always a human behind a player. I think that's what needs taken care of.

Has the manager outlined what pre-season will be like?

I think the first few sessions gave us a rough idea and I think everybody is prepared to go in full. It's been good three days so far, intense days as well but that's what you need. You need to be fit for a very long season.

How big a blow is it that you have to play away from Ibrox at the start of the season?

Obviously, Ibrox is what it is. The fans will travel wherever they have to go. It's out of our control really so we can just focus on what we have to do on the pitch whether that's at Ibrox or anywhere else, we have to put in the performances. That's the only thing we can really focus on.

Would you like some clarity on where you will be playing?

It would help, for sure but at the end of the day it's what we do on the pitch and it doesn't really matter where.

What makes you think you can win the title?

Under the manager we could see what he was able to do in a very short period of time and given now that he has a full pre-season to work with us and implement his ideas, that's one factor. Apart from that, it's what we're about every year, the quality that is in the team and it's just about ticking a few boxes and working on a few weak spots that we showed last season and make sure they go away.