James Penrice proves why he's on path to Rangers cult hero status as Celtic footage emerges

James Penrice has quickly won the hearts of the Rangers faithful.

The 27-year-old joined Gers on a season-long loan deal from AEK Athens, with an option to buy inserted into that agreement.

His name will have been familiar to many Rangers fans for his time spent in Scottish football with the likes of Hearts, Livingston and Partick Thistle.

What many may not have been aware of is just how big of a character he is, but that's quickly coming through at Ibrox.

Derek McInnes entrusted him to operate in a left-back/midfield hybrid role against Celtic on Sunday, and he performed it to perfection.

Penrice has clearly bought in completely in Govan too, as evidenced by footage captured from Gers' Scottish League Cup Old Firm victory.

How did James Penrice react to Rangers' opening goal vs Celtic?

Rangers took full advantage of a Celtic-less crowd inside Ibrox on Sunday, as McInnes' men stormed to a memorable 3-0 win.

Dan Neil enjoyed his Rangers coming-out party with two wonderful strikes, the first of which sending Gers on their way to the win.

Ibrox erupted, with fans going crazy in the stands and the television cameras focused on capturing Neil wheeling away in celebration.

As a result, many eyes will have missed Penrice's reaction to the goal down near the left touchline.

But as captured and shared to Instagram by LMC VLOGS, we can see the sheer euphoria and passion take over the Rangers defender.

Penrice is seen turning towards the Bill Struth Main Stand before grabbing his shorts and delivering a double fist-pumped celebration to Gers fans.

Many players would simply run to the goalscorer, but the fact Penrice's first thought was to share in the joy with fans says a lot about his character.

So, just how good has Penrice been through his opening handful of Rangers appearances?

Where Penrice ranks amongst Scottish Premiership left-backs this term

It's footage that Rangers fans will be unable to resist a smile at, whilst only serving to further endear him to the Ibrox faithful.

But in order to really cement his cult hero status, Penrice will of course need to deliver strong performances on the pitch too.

That's exactly what he's been doing since arriving though, both in attack and defence.

As per FotMob, Rangers concede an average of just 0.26 goals per game when Penrice is on the pitch.

Meanwhile, his 1.84 successful crosses and 1.32 chances created per 90 rank him in the top 17.9 and 28.2 percentile of all Scottish Premiership left-backs.

Penrice is also well above his positional average for his 2.11 touches in the opposition box and 3.95 clearances per game too.

At this rate then, Rangers won't need to wait until the end of the season to trigger his option to buy clause.