By Andrew Newport
Max Aarons has warned Rangers skipper James Tavernier he is gunning for his starting slot this season. The Bournemouth right-back has joined Gers on a season-long loan after becoming the first man to sign up to the Russell Martin revolution. And the 25-year-old Premier League ace insists he鈥檚 not made the move north so he can sit on the bench. With almost a century of top-flight appearances under his belt, the former England Under-21 cap believes he can play a major role for Martin鈥檚 new-look Light Blues. He does, however, arrive on the back of a frustrating campaign that saw him limited to a handful of appearances for the Cherries before he was sent out for another vexing Valencia loan stint, where he managed just four La Liga run-outs. Now having made the move to Ibrox he鈥檒l go head to head with captain Tavernier – but Aarons is backing himself to get the nod. He said: 鈥淲hen I look back, nearly every club I鈥檝e been at, it鈥檚 been a similar situation where the right-back has been the captain. 鈥淏ut you know, Tav鈥檚 a great guy who has been a really successful player here, so anything I can pick up from him will be amazing. 鈥淏ut obviously I鈥檓 here to hopefully put my marker down and play as many games as I can and contribute to a successful season.鈥 Aarons had Tavernier鈥檚 brother Marcus as a team-mate at the Vitality. And he revealed how he was pre-warned about the soaring expectation levels he can expect as Rangers seek to dethrone Brendan Rodgers鈥 Parkhead kings of Scotland . 鈥淣ot just speaking to Marcus, but speaking to other people before coming here, I鈥檓 fully aware of the expectation levels, the challenge, whatever you want to call it, that lies ahead,鈥 he said. 鈥淥bviously I believe in the project here and with the manager coming in here, the players that are being signed to add to a squad that I already think is a really good group, I can sense there鈥檚 a real positive feel around the place every day now. 鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to be here and, like I said, I know the size of this club and I know the challenge here. 鈥淚 believe I鈥檓 ready to come here and earn a spot.鈥 Martin was one of those skippers he had to head-to-head with earlier in his career when they were both on the books at Norwich. It was the Three Lions youth cap鈥檚 emergence that helped usher Martin out the door at Carrow Road. But now he鈥檚 looking forward to helping the new Ibrox gaffer cement his reputation in Glasgow. 鈥淥bviously I played with the manager here earlier in my career,鈥 he explained. 鈥淲e crossed over for a little bit then he came here himself on loan as a player. 鈥淭hat was when I first broke through at Norwich. We had a really good relationship back then and the same with Matt Gill, the assistant here who was my under-18s and under-21s coach. 鈥淭hey were then at Southampton as well, so everything has matched up perfectly here. 鈥淪igning here was something I really wanted to do, so I鈥檓 grateful to Bournemouth for allowing that to happen. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 in a really good position now and I鈥檓 looking forward to the season. 鈥淲hat appeals about Rangers? The size of the club. Despite being English and having played most of my career down south, you know about Rangers and the size of this football club. 鈥淲hen it was combined with this manager who I know very well, even if I haven鈥檛 worked under him before, everything I鈥檝e heard about him and his staff meant it just matched up perfectly. 鈥淪o I think we can have a real successful season. That鈥檚 why I came here.鈥