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MARTYN WAGHORN has suffered rejection and dejection in his career but the Rangers striker is convinced that moving to Scotland has been the making of him.

And yesterday he insisted the prospect of playing in Europe for the Ibrox club at some point means there’s no chance he is using Rangers as a stepping stone back to the big time in England.

Waghorn kicked off his career as the next big thing at Sunderland, winning England Under-21 caps in the process, but was eventually sold to Leicester for £3m and a succession of lower-league loan deals followed until he joined Wigan, where he was deemed surplus to requirements.

But the 25-year-old has recovered from those knocks to enjoy a blistering start to his Rangers career and was named Ladbrokes Championship Player of the Month for September to add to the 14 goals he’s already notched this season.

The striker is delighted with the award and acknowledges that making the most of the chance under Mark Warburton to rebuild his reputation as a top player is a huge motivation.

(Image: Jeff Holmes/PA Wire)

He said: “I definitely think that some players here have had their knock-backs or set-backs and that is part of why we are determined to do well.

“To come to a club like Rangers and work for this gaffer, it gives everyone a real hunger and desire to win things.

“The chance we’ve got to do that now is driving everyone on.

“I know it has given me a second chance. It has given me that opportunity to really be something, be what I can be. I’m at the right club to do that.

“I knew the manager had been to see me a couple of times and tried to sign me before but it never really happened.

“So when I heard of the interest and knew there was this chance, I was desperate to come up here – especially because it was joining a club like Rangers.

“The history here, the direction the club are going in, it was a no-brainer for me. And I got to work with the gaffer.”

The move has certainly gone well enough for Waghorn who has followed on from August’s winner James Tavernier by picking up a Player of the Month gong.

He said: “It’s nice to get the award but I think any one of the boys could have won it this month. We’ve worked really well together and it is paying off.

“I got nominated a couple of times down south but never won anything, so it’s nice. Hopefully I can achieve a few more.

“I never questioned whether this was the right decision or not. This is a massive club and I'm here to work hard every week.It’s good that my efforts have been acknowledged but I know I’ve got to keep working and performing well.”

Waghorn moved his family to Glasgow recently – a sign that he is finally putting down roots after a nomadic career that has seen him play for Sunderland, Charlton, Leicester, Hull, Millwall and Wigan before his move north in the summer.

“It’s about seeing how far I can go with Rangers,” he said. “I’m here for, hopefully, a long time and I want to achieve a lot during that time. The thought of where Rangers can go in the next couple of years is why I came here. I want to be part of something successful and really achieve a lot of things at this club.

“I want to help get us back into the Premier League and see us qualify for Europe, then go from there.

“So I don’t see this as a stepping stone to go anywhere else. This is where I

want to be.

“My family are up with me now. My little boy has started nursery and my wife is starting her job. She does a bit of work with the Open University and does other stuff on the side, some wedding planning, little bits and bobs.

In Pictures: Rangers players visit Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children...

“She’s a very successful and driven person herself. She’s continuing the work she started down south.

“It’s obviously important to be settled and happy off the field – and the club will benefit on the field. To have them up here is crucial.”

Having set an initial target of 20 goals for the season, Waghorn is now having to readjust his sights – but you won’t hear him saying he can score 40 or 50 in a season, despite having 14 in the first quarter of the campaign.

He said: “I’ve had to revise the target. But I’m going to wait until I hit the first one and then try to hit another.

“I want to keep pushing myself and be the best player I can.

“The first target was 20 goals, so I’m nearly there. When I get there, I’ll set another one – but it will be nice to hit that target.

“Forty or fifty is a lot of goals for anyone. I will sit down and have a think once I hit the 20, but as long as we keep getting the three points, that’s what really matters.”

Waghorn refutes any suggestion that playing in the Scottish Championship is easy and that it is making Rangers look better than they really are.

He said: “I don’t think it’s easy at all. Every team poses a different challenge. Playing football the way we do has made it look a lot easier than it really is.

“But that’s down to not only the quality in the squad, but the hunger we’ve got, the determination there to go out week in, week out and play the way we do.

(Image: Willie Vass)

“That’s credit to the players for the work we put in.”

The one setback Rangers have suffered this season was the League Cup defeat to Premiership outfit St Johnstone but Waghorn reckons there are positives to be taken out of that reverse as well.

“It made us analyse things,” he revealed. “We took the positives out of it and we looked at the goals conceded.

“Sometimes you do need something, I won’t say a reality check, but you do need to realise that it’s not going to be easy every time you go on the park.

“It has made us refocus, just work that bit harder and know that, if we’re going to achieve something, we have to put the effort in every single week.

“To be the type of squad that can challenge on all fronts, we have to work hard every single day.

“So it was a good defeat, in some ways, just to get our focus back on track. It has definitely

done that.”