Ianis Hagi has thanked ‘great skipper’ James Tavernier for helping him through his summer of uncertainty at Rangers after returning to the Ibrox squad in recent weeks.

Hagi looked set to be heading for the exit door as a contract situation rumbled on for several months earlier this term. The Romanian returned to Philippe Clement’s first team group after an agreement was reached and he started for the first time in the win over St Johnstone on Sunday.

It was a difficult period on and off the park for Hagi as he was forced to train and play with the B Team and saw speculation over his future mount. His position at Ibrox was a regular source of debate amongst supporters but he sought solace in those around him and will be forever grateful for the role that Tavernier played in keeping his spirits up.

“Yeah, definitely,” Hagi said when asked if he spoke regularly to his father, Gheorghe, during those times of uncertainty. “Obviously, he didn't really go through these types of situations in his career, but with so much experience that he has in football, he definitely helped me and not only him, but the family as well, people at the club. 

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“A big shout-out to Tav, to skip, because obviously people know him on the pitch and what he does and being a skipper for the last few years of Rangers and everything he does and his stats are just mad for a fullback.

“That's that, but then he helped me a lot and behind the scenes, he does a lot for this football club. I have to thank him for being there and being a captain and I will never forget what he did for me during the summer and helping me in situations where it's not about a player-to-player relationship, it's more about a man-to-man relationship and he's been there, so people have to know that and he's a great skipper.

“We've been through quite a few battles alongside, obviously playing on their right side with their first with Steven Gerrard and then with Gio as well up until I got injured. We have plenty of games together on that football pitch and besides that, also different situations that we get around the season. As I said, he's a great skipper and people will obviously see what he does on the pitch but there's so much more behind the scenes that goes around with him.”

Hagi played a key role in the win over the Saints as his cross to the back post was inadvertently converted by Jason Holt. It was the only goal of the game as Clement’s side again earned a narrow and hard-fought victory.

It was still an afternoon for Hagi to cherish, though. Speaking ahead of the visit of Kilmarnock, he opened up on his thoughts over the summer and expressed his desire to win silverware with Rangers once again.

“I wouldn't say I was down,” Hagi said. “Angry, probably, at some of the days, yeah. At the end of the day, I'm a human being. I have emotions, but as I said, I went to bed at night just thinking that I have to respect football. 

“I love this sport way too much to disrespect it, and I approach it that way. By doing that, that means obviously getting into the training ground, train yourself, obviously do some extra training, prepare your body to be in the right direction.

“So obviously being involved with the national team as well and having conversations with the new gaffer down there helped me as well and made me prepare because I knew that September, October, November will come and I'll be down there and I need to perform and I'm going to get minutes. It was a mixture of everything. Mentally, I can't really say I was down. I was actually in a good place.”