Ivor Pandur confident he can handle the pressure of playing for Rangers

Ivor Pandur insists he has the character to embrace the intense pressure of playing for Rangers.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper joined the Scottish Premiership side on a four-year deal from Hull having helped them gain promotion to the Premier League last season.

Pandur has returned from World Cup duties with Croatia and made his Gers debut in a 2-1 win over French side Saint-Etienne in a friendly at Ibrox on Wednesday night.

From discussions with former players about the club, Pandur knows that under new boss Derek McInnes and with a revamped squad, Rangers, who have won one William Hill Premiership title in 15 years, are expected to turn the tables on Old Firm rivals Celtic.

The former Fortuna Sittard keeper said: “Yeah, they told me it is pressure. They demand a lot from the players and they want trophies, they want to win.

“I want all of that as well. I’ve never ran from pressure, from responsibility, all my career. It’s just the way I’ve been raised, so it matched perfectly in my opinion.

“I want to test myself at the biggest stage. I think Rangers is one of the biggest clubs in Europe, so I want to see how I will handle it because in my mind, I know I’m ready for it.

“It’s a privilege and honour to be in this position and to give absolutely everything I have for this club. It’s just a proud feeling.”

Pandur insists Rangers are getting a better goalkeeper than the one they were interested in four years ago when he was playing in the Netherlands.

He said: “Obviously, in football, there is always some interest, but rarely something happens.

“I remember my agent was talking with the director who is not here any more at this club, and it came close, but our paths didn’t align at the time.

“It’s probably better because now I’m much better than I was three or four years ago.

“I’ve developed quite a lot and there’s still more to come and I think I’m in a perfect place to improve.”

Pandur is thrilled to be under the watch of former Rangers and Scotland keeper Allan McGregor, who rejoined the Ibrox club as goalkeeping coach this summer.

He said: “It means a lot to me to have him as my coach because I can only learn and it’s up to me to take everything from him, ask him questions, from his lessons, if I can learn anything.

“He’s a legend of the club, but also in Europe, he played a lot of games for the national team as well so when I found out he’s a goalkeeper coach, it just fills me with happiness.

“I want to learn from the best, and that’s why I came as well.

“I’m in a really good place to learn, to improve, to develop under him. So yeah, I’m truly happy.”