Marius Zaliukas leaves Rangers by mutual consent

Marius Zaliukas in action for Rangers. Picture: SNS

MARIUS Zaliukas has left Rangers by mutual consent after being told that he does not feature in the club’s plans.

Manager Mark Warburton admitted after his side’s 5-0 League Cup victory at Airdrie that the Lithuanian defender does not fit into his new side.

Asked about the status of Zaliukas, Warburton said:

“His time at Rangers is limited,” the Rangers manager said when pressed about the future of the 31-year-old former Hearts captain. “I have a squad that is lean and hungry.”

Warburton patently believes that Rangers are ready to cope without any of the centre-backs that struggled through last season. Zaliukas, indeed, never really looked at home at an Ibrox side he joined in July 2014 after a spell at Leeds United. Signed by former manager Ally McCoist, he made 20 starts in the league last season and also played in all six of Rangers’ promotion play-off matches which ended with defeat by Motherwell in the two-legged final.

However, he has not made a single competitive appearance this season under Warburton. The new manager signed centre-backs Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson in the close season in a major overhaul as he seeks to win the Championship.

His departure could leave Rangers short of defensive cover, with Kiernan, Wilson and on-loan Tottenham Hotspur player Dominic Ball the only senior centre-backs at the club.