Connor Goldson targets Rangers longevity as stopper reveals ideal retirement age

Connor Goldson may have lost his place in Philippe Clement's Rangers team. But the long-serving stopper insists he's still got plenty more years left in the tank.

Goldson has been a virtual ever-present since Steven Gerrard convinced him to swap Brighton for Glasgow in 2018. The 31-year-old has racked up an incredible 309 appearances for the Light Blues and played a key role in the famous run to the Europa League Final, as well as the title-winning season in 2020/21.

But the giant stopper watched Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final win over Hearts from the sidelines after taking up an unusual place on the bench. Goldson has been criticised in recent weeks over a drop in form and Clement took one of his most experienced leaders out of the firing line at Hampden. Leon Balogun impressed in his place and Goldson now faces a battle to win back his starting spot.

But the big Englishman would love to take a leaf out of Portuguese legend Pepe's book by playing at the top-level well into his twilight years.

He told the Talking Transitions podcast: "It's easy to be good for a few years or a few games. But realistically, I'm now 31. I want to play until I'm 38, and why can't you? I watched Porto the other day, Pepe is 41 playing in the Champions League, playing for his national team still. It's possible.

"Don't get me wrong, do I enjoy a night out every now and again? Yes, but that's had to scale back to only certain points in the season, an international break. Do I have a takeaway after games? Yeah, but then for the other side days, I'll eat healthily.

"From a younger age, I've seen the bigger picture and if I do the majority of the things right now, hopefully when I'm 35, 36 my body will repay me."