Vladimir Weiss says it was Rangers' persistence and ambition that led him to join them instead of Celtic.

The Manchester City winger spoke to Rangers manager Walter Smith two days after a chat with Celtic's Neil Lennon before concluding his loan deal.

"He told me what his plans are, I told him what I want from this season and, after a chat, it was just the time when I was going to come over and sign.

"Rangers were maybe a bit more dominant to go and get me," said the Slovakian.

Weiss also sought the advice of his father, Vladimir Weiss Snr, the Slovakia national team coach, who was manager of Artmedia Bratislava when they faced both Celtic and Rangers.

"I always speak to my dad about everything I do in my football career," said the 20-year-old who spent the latter part of last season on loan to Bolton Wanderers, making all but three of his 13 appearances as a substitute.

It was an agent that brought him to us and we showed a bit of interest, but we withdrew that interest after a while Celtic manager Neil Lennon

"He helps me a lot with everything. For him, this was a great move as well.

"He spoke to Lubo Moravcik about Celtic and, at first, he wanted me to go to Celtic.

"But, when Rangers came in, he told me to let it settle down for a few days and think it over.

"That's what I've done and I decided on Rangers."

Weiss, who said that Rangers' qualification for the Champions League group stages had also been a factor, revealed that the Old Firm were not the only clubs interested.

"There have been a few clubs in Italy or Germany, but the deal between them and Manchester City did not go through," said the winger, who hopes to help Rangers retain the Scottish title and reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

"People were telling me that this league is not as hard as maybe the Premier League, or comparing it to the Championship.

"I have had players and friends from Slovakia who played in this league and everybody told me this league is tough and I can learn a lot.

"After this season, I will be a Manchester City player. If I come back next season, I don't want to go on loan again - I want to stay in the team and fight for my chance."

Smith played down suggestions that he had hijacked the player from his city rivals, saying that he registered his interested in Weiss weeks ago - well before he was aware Celtic had also targeted him.

"It's a nice media headline, but I don't think that's the case," said the Ibrox boss.

"We enquired about the player just at the start of pre-season training, so you are looking at seven weeks ago.

"Manchester City said they couldn't make a decision at that time, that they would have to wait until nearer the end of the transfer window.

"They got in contact with us last week, but there were a number of clubs in and we had no idea who they were at the time."

Lennon also played down suggestions that he had been beaten to the signature of Weiss.

"It was an agent that brought him to us and we showed a bit of interest, but we withdrew that interest after a while," he said.

"We're going to get linked with a lot of players."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version