Cuellar determined to extend Ibrox stay

Published on Thursday 15 May 2008 23:03

RANGERS defender Carlos Cuellar insists Wednesday night's Uefa Cup final defeat by Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium has only increased his determination to remain at Ibrox.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, voted player of the year by the Scottish Football Writers' Association, has been linked with a move to the English Premier League with Newcastle United reportedly one of his suitors.

Certainly, St James Park manager Kevin Keegan would not have been the only manager impressed by Cuellar's typically tenacious performance against the Russian club.

The former Osasuna player was solid at the heart of the Rangers defence although he could not prevent a more technically-gifted Zenit side capturing their first European trophy.

However, Cuellar shrugged off his disappointment at losing out on the opportunity to win four trophies this season and reiterated his desire to stay in Glasgow. He said: "It was disappointing to lose to Zenit but that will not affect my future. I have a contract for another three years and I am very happy with that. I am playing at one of the biggest clubs in the country and we have a very good team. I can play in the Champions League every year, I have the chance of winning the league and also winning the other Scottish trophies.

"Zenit deserved to beat us. We put in a good performance, but they were better than us.

"Now we have to change our mentality. We have lost the Uefa Cup but now we have to win the SPL and the Scottish Cup. We have two games more than Celtic to play so we can do it even though we have three difficult games coming up in a short period of time. The important thing is that we have to be ready for Motherwell at the weekend."

Cuellar's central defensive partner David Weir, whose contract is up at the end of the season, claimed it was too early to discuss his future.

The 38-year-old, who along with Cuellar has been instrumental in Rangers' success this season, insists the team must quickly re-focus on the SPL title race. He said: "We have to try and use the defeat as a positive and move on. "If we feel sorry for ourselves then we are in trouble."