Senderos signs on at Rangers and sets sights on making debut against Celtic

The 31-year-old Swiss international defender – the 11th signing made by Gers boss Mark Warburton this summer – penned a one-year deal at Ibrox.

And now the former Arsenal, AC Milan, Fulham and Aston Villa stopper can look forward to life in Glasgow and that Old Firm derby clash with arch-rival Celtic on September 10.

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“That’s the kind of game everyone wants to play in – and hopefully I can have a good week of training and then we will see from there,” said Senderos, who after lengthy trials at Ibrox returned yesterday from a family holiday to put pen to paper.

“This is why you come to such a big club though to play in those kind of games,” he told the official Rangers website. “It is right up there with some of the best derbies in the world, and I am expecting a lot of noise as I said before, and the whole city vibrating to this game.”

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Senderos will make his first outing for his new club when Rangers fly to Belfast for Saturday’s meeting with David Healy’s Linfield team in Jamie Mulgrew’s testimonial game at Windsor Park.

“The plan was always for me to get things sorted and then travel with the team to Belfast and see from there.

“I can’t wait to get started now everything is done and sorted, so I can go there and start focusing on what I really need to do.”

And, at Celtic Park, that will mean trying to get Rangers a result that will stop then falling four points behind the undefeated Premiership leaders, who also have a game in hand.

Rangers themselves go in to that game undefeated.

However, they have been less than convincing while winning against Dundee and Motherwell, and were completely out of sorts while only drawing with Hamilton Accies on the opening day, and, most notably, away to Kilmarnock last Friday.

Having missed out on another ex-Aston Villa centre-back, Joleon Lescott, who eventually chose Athens over Scotland, Senderos became a crucial recruit for Warburton as he attempts to bolster the Rangers back line ahead of their trip to Glasgow East End.

Nevertheless, Senderos is fully aware that if facing Celtic and Brendan Rodgers on his debut makes for a tough first assignment, then he will also be tested to the max each time he runs out for Rangers.

He concluded: “I expect tough games with all the teams though. I have seen already the last few games since I have been here, and it is very difficult to play as everyone is expecting Rangers to come out and to try and play their football.

“If the other teams sit back and make it difficult for you, it’s going to be hard to break down. You have to find solutions though, and that’s where experience and quality comes into play.

“Hopefully we can do that and manage that in those games.”