Rangers: Leon Balogun admits to tough times after Ibrox exit in summer
Giovanni van Bronckhorst decided that he and Rangers did not need the services of Leon Balogun anymore and released him in the summer.
The 34-year-old spent several months without a club while trying to keep himself as fit as possible in Glasgow as he searched for a new challenge elsewhere in Europe.
Eventually, former Rangers assistant manager Michael Beale rang and sign him for Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship but the Nigerian international admitted that he found the wait tough.
“It was a long summer,” Balogun said to West London Sport. “I stayed up in Glasgow the whole time just trying to stay fit and not to lose my mind, but it was very, very challenging. I can’t lie.
“That’s the game nowadays. They see a certain number, which is the age, and they are like ‘nah’.
“That’s what I had to deal with loads in the beginning, which obviously made it even more challenging because I know what I’m still capable of. It was just a matter of who is out there that believes in it.”
Big miss
He might not have been the best central defender at Rangers last season but his experience and cover were invaluable to van Bronckhorst, even though he didn’t realise it at the time.
Even the odd injury couldn’t keep him down for long and he could always be relied upon to be available if numbers were low at the back.
That is exactly the scenario that is happening right now at Ibrox with John Souttar and Connor Goldson both out long-term as well as Swedish international Filip Helander.
As a result, Leon King and Ben Davies are almost being forced to play every game right now with only James Sands, a natural midfielder, an alternative option realistically.
If Balogun had been signed for just one more year, van Bronckhorst might not be suffering this wave of poor form and pressure from elsewhere courtesy of having more options to play each game.
In other Rangers news, club stakeholders have issued a statement in anger at the board of directors at Ibrox, asking for a meeting with chairman Douglas Park.