Ben Davies has insisted he never thought about leaving Rangers over the summer - despite speculation over a transfer exit from Ibrox.

The central defender was reportedly on his way out of the club during the transfer window with Stoke credited with an interest, however, the player shut down any suggestion that he was set to move on.

Davies returned to the Rangers team in the 2-0 win over St Johnstone and revealed manager Michael Beale advised him that he would be a key player for the club this term.

“I don’t think so," said Davies when quizzed on whether he thought about a move back to England during the summer window.

As quoted by the Daily Record, he continued: "I’m not sure what was said about me but as far as I was concerned I was a Rangers player and I wasn’t looking to move.

"My priority over the summer was getting fit and getting back in the team, which I did up in Perth.

"The manager said I was an important part of what he was looking to do going forward,  so I took that in and made sure I went and got myself fit. He’s played me at the weekend, so…

“The manager has shown a lot of faith in me since he’s been here. It’s time I repaid that and put some good performances in.”

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And after the victory in Perth, Davies admitted he is hopeful Rangers can string a run of results together after a tricky start to the season.

On Rangers TV, he said: “It was good to be back, I felt my fitness – lungs wise – was good and I felt quite strong in the game.

“It was my first 90 minutes since before Aberdeen, so it’s been a long time and I was happy to be out there and involved.

“When I realised I was playing, I was just thinking, ‘Solid performance and clean sheet’. So I was happy that we’ve done that.

“I thought we controlled the game really well, limited them to not much at all. We scored two good goals and could have scored more.

“But it’s a step back in the right direction and the start of hopefully a good run."