“I needed to be ready” – Leon Balogun speaks on exclusion from Rangers Europa League squad

Leon Balogun joined Rangers on a second spell after leaving Queens Park Rangers. He originally signed for Rangers in the summer of 2020.

Super Eagles central defender, Leon Balogun, has finally spoken on his exclusion from Rangers’ UEFA Europa League squad, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 35-year-old originally joined Rangers from Brighton and Hove Albion, and played sixty-five games for The Teddy Bears, before moving on to QPR in the summer of 2022.

He rejoined Rangers in August 2023, but barely featured for the club in league games, and was even excluded from the club’s UEFA Europa League squad by the then manager, Michaele Beale.

Beale fell out of favour with the club hierarchy, and they had to part ways, with Philippe Clement coming in to coach the side. The arrival of the 49-year-old Belgian brought new hope for the club and for Leon Balogun.

The 1.9m tall defender was thrown a lifeline and played against Dundee, putting in a performance like he was in his prime, and then started the next game last weekend in the club’s 3-1 over Hearts, and he was happy to be in the squad again.

“I am very happy at the moment. I am coming off the back of some quite tough weeks. I found myself out of the active squad, not the whole squad completely, so to come back from that I am just really grateful,” Balogun said in quotes revealed by Scottish Sun.

The former Mainz 05 midfielder was grateful to get a chance and had to stay patient in training and stay strong for the team.

“I am so happy I was able to capitalise on my chance. I’m only looking forward. Of course, it was a predicament where you start to think about things. I was never one to stick my head in the sand and give up, so I just stayed patient and tried to do my thing in training.”

The Nigerian is happy with life under the new coach, describing Philippe Clement as demanding.

“He’s very demanding. If you look at his stature and his presence, it’s different, and that is not a dig at Mick Beale. They are just two completely different characters, and he’s got standards, but he gives you a good level of confidence.”

Balogun is looking forward to playing more games with Rangers and to an inclusion in the club’s UEFA Europa League squad, should they qualify.