Steven Gerrard insists playing the long game played off for Rangers as they patiently waited for Glen Kamara to agree a new deal.
The Finland ace this week put pen to paper on a fresh four-year contract which Ibrox chiefs hope will fend off interest in the 25-year-old.
Gerrard first felt the need to poke the Gers board into action last October but it has taken 11 months for an agreement to be struck.
And the Rangers boss reckons it was worth the wait.
“As manager of this club you have to respect where people are at,” he said.
“I’m not going to be a manager who forces people to do something they’re not ready to do.
“All we can do, if we want to keep a player, is make sure we make them respectable offers and hope that they’re on the same page.
“I tend to leave Ross Wilson to do his job. Once we agree that we want to keep a player or extend a deal then I say to Ross, ‘over to you’ and Ross then does his magic.
“That’s as simple as it is. I was always confident with Glen because I feel this is the right place for Glen.
“I still think Glen can go on again, I think there’s more to come from him.
“He’s settled, he’s happy and he’s been smiling around the place, he’s also in great form.
“The noises that were coming out from the stable, even although it was a patient one, were always good.
“Glen has always made it clear he is happy here. Rangers have been good for Glen and Glen has been good for Rangers.”
Meanwhile Gerrard took aim at opposition bosses’ time-wasting tactics after seeing Motherwell and Livingston both try to run down the clock at Ibrox this week.
Against Well, the ball was in play for just 51 minutes out of the 90 and Gerrard said: “As a club you have a decision to make at the start of the season - do you want to use multi-ball or do you not.
“I think it’s quite clear at Rangers we decided to use multi-ball because we’re all paid to provide entertainment for the supporters.
“We want the ball on the pitch as much as possible. We don’t want the ball to go out for throw-ins or corners, we actually want to play football.
“If other teams decide not to use multi-ball or if managers decide to waste time, that’s on them.
“We don’t waste time, we play football and we want the ball on the pitch as much as possible.”
