Rangers midfielder makes ‘something special’ vow as he fights for Ibrox future and opens up on McInnes chat

Diomande, 24, has been a regular starter for Rangers over the last two-and-a-half seasons, but faces serious competition for his place in the upcoming campaign after the club strengthened their midfield options significantly this summer with the signings of Cammy Devlin, Dan Neil and Vanja Dragojevic.

The Ivorian will compete with fellow midfielders Tochi Chukwuani, Connor Barron, Thelo Aasgaard and the aforementioned trio of new signings for a starting berth when Rangers travel to Dundee United for their opening game of the new season on Friday night, but remains confident that he can provide his new boss with something unique as he fights for his Ibrox future in the weeks ahead.

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“We have a lot of new signings,” said Diomande. “He’s [McInnes] tried to implement his style of play and I would say he’s doing really well at that at the moment. We have a lot of new players that need to adapt to a lot of things and I think we’re all in good shape and we’re ready to attack the season. We’ve had that before, when they’ve brought more players, so I need to do what I need to do to make the manager see my qualities.

“I mean I’m happy here and I think they’re happy with me. When I speak to the manager, he wants me here. So I would say I’m happy, I want to continue as much as I can, and I want to continue because I’m still under contract. I try to show the positive parts of my game. I know it’s a healthy competition because a lot of good players have been brought in with different qualities, but I believe I have something special that the gaffer is going to see and he’s going to put me in the team.

“I know everybody has their opinion and for me personally I just do what I need to do to be in the team and make my coaches happy. When they’re happy with my performance, I don’t care about what happens around me. Maybe the fans say in some games I didn’t do well, but I only look at what I can do for the team and what the coach wants me to do, because everybody has their opinion and they don’t know what’s really happening inside.”

While Diomande’s future will likely remain a source of debate heading into the final weeks of the transfer window, the ex-Copenhagen player has reiterated his belief that Rangers’ new-look team have all the ingredients needed to enjoy a strong campaign, hailing the arrival of former Hearts boss McInnes as pivotal to the club’s hopes of success.

“I’ve had different types of managers and personally I would say he’s a good guy, he’s a good human. I think he brings good positive energy, he speaks to a lot of players and I really like those characteristics in a manager. I want to give my best to him also because I think he trusts me and I trust him and I want to give my best.

“He wants us to play forward, he wants us to be positive on the ball, he wants us to feed our strikers, get the ball in the box, and I think that’s maybe something we didn’t do so much last season. I believe he knows the league, he knows the team and he knows the background and history of the club. He has the experience to push us to where we need to be. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I’m sure when we get to the important part of the season he’s going to help us with all the experience he has as a player and as a manager.”