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RANGERS right-back James Tavernier admits being treated like a superstar by the Ibrox faithful has taken a bit of getting used to.

The former Wigan man has got off to a flier with the Light Blues, bagging five goals in seven appearances already, including a couple of stunning free-kicks.

And having spent most of his career to date as a bit-part player or loanee, he’s relishing his status as a hero to the Gers fans.

Tavernier, 23, said: “The main aim this season was to play regular football and be in the team week in, week out.

“I’ve lacked that throughout my career, either because of being recalled from loans or because of an injury.

“I’m just happy that I’ve found stability and a love of football all over again. I’m thriving on it.

“You can’t soak it up quickly enough just how big this club is and the way the fans respond to you in the streets.

“I think they know the club’s going in the right direction and they’re really happy with what they’ve seen so far.”

Watch one of the goals that has made Rangers fans adore James Tavernier:

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Tavernier revealed the early kick-offs for live TV have also come as a shock to his system.

He said: “One of the things that set me back was the lunchtime kick-offs because I’ve never done that before.

“Eating salmon and pasta at half nine in the morning was weird at first but you get used to it. I stick to the same pre-match meal no matter what. It seems to work well for me, so I’ll have salmon and pasta for my Sunday breakfast before our game against Queen of the South.”

Tavernier, who played against Queens in a pre-season friendly – is looking forward to the game but has been made aware that Palmerston was a bit of a bogey ground for Rangers last season.

He said: “The record shows we lost two games down there last season. They’re obviously good at home but we’ll go down there as we do for every game.

“We’ll come up with a game-plan and we’ll stick to what we know best. Hopefully we’ll get the win.

“I played against Queen of the South for Wigan in La Manga during their pre-season.

“We got the win but it’s difficult to judge them on a pre-season game, especially in 35-degree heat.

“They got on the ball and passed well. I was concentrating fully on Wigan at that point as nothing happened with Rangers until a few weeks later.

“We’re going down there with a lot of confidence and hopefully we can replicate what we did on Wednesday at Airdrie.

“You always like to hear that you haven’t won at a ground in so long because it makes you hungrier to score goals, keep clean sheets and play some really good football.

“We want to send the fans home happy.”

Tavernier was thrilled with the contribution of on-loan Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem after he made his Rangers debut in the midweek League Cup win in Lanarkshire.

He added: “Gedion is very good on the ball. He’s confident with the ball at his feet which is what you want from a midfielder.

“When you play the ball in to them, you want them to be able to take it under pressure.

“He showed his qualities in the game on Wednesday and I think there’s a lot more to come.

“When Gedion watched the previous game against Hibs he was sitting in a crowd of 50,000 fans and he was overwhelmed by the support.

“After the game people were asking for his autograph even though he’d just signed.

“He was thrown by that and I’m sure he’s soaking it up.”