Rangers get their man for £1.5m as Lee Wallace lands a five-year deal

The 23-year-old defender became Ally McCoist's second signing as Rangers manager after the Scottish champions had an offer for his services accepted at the third attempt. Previous bids of 300,000 and 900,000 had been rejected by the Tynecastle club to leave Wallace, who had one year remaining on his contract, fearing that the 3 million valuation placed upon him would scupper the deal completely.

Wallace, who is now in line to make his debut for Rangers against Hearts in tomorrow's SPL season opener at Ibrox, expressed his relief and delight at being able to make what he regards as a "huge step up".

He also believes it is vindication of how he has turned his personal life around over the past two years after attracting some lurid headlines earlier in his career. Wallace was convicted of a firearms offence in 2006 and then a breach of the peace charge following a nightclub incident in 2009.

Recognising the threat to his highly promising career, Wallace believes he has become a more rounded and professional individual and one capable of enjoying success as a Rangers player.

"I think Rangers are getting me at the best possible time of my career and it's the best time for me to join them," said Wallace. "I'll be 24 next week and I have matured a lot in the last couple of years.

"The off-the-field stuff was just down to stupidity. It affected everyone, myself, my girlfriend and my family. It was a huge wake-up call for me and it was just a case of knuckling down, being professional and training hard.

"The penny just dropped for me one day. It came to the point where I realised I had to work hard consistently and do well for Hearts. I got into the Scotland squad after that, which was great, until I got the bad injury against Liechtenstein last September.

"It was then a case of working hard to get fit again. I've had a good pre-season and I'm ready for the challenge ahead. I am ambitious and want to play at the highest level. I feel that by coming here, it's a huge step and I can kick on even more. I'll be working with winners, players who are seasoned at this level. I can learn a lot from some top professionals and that can only benefit me.

"It's a huge step up. When you walk out at Ibrox and see the size of the stadium and know you'll be playing in front of 50,000 fans every second week, it's a great platform. It comes with great responsibility and huge expectations. It's a challenge I don't think many people could turn down. I'm no different.

"There was a slight concern that the opportunity to come here had been missed. But I tried to stay as positive as I could and being professional about it was the only way to deal with it. I got on with my job at Hearts but hoped something would eventually happen.

"With the difference in the figures being talked about between the clubs I was never sure. I just had to concentrate on being fit for the start of the season. I never went to the manager's door and pestered him about it. I just went into training and worked hard which is the way it should be.

"I got a text this morning from my agent asking me to phone him as soon as possible. I had a feeling what it was about and it was great to find out that the deal could go through."

The final anxiety for Wallace came in the form of his Rangers medical as he pondered how the cruciate knee ligament injury he sustained in that Scotland match against Liechtenstein would impact upon it.

"I had a wee doubt about the medical, given how serious the injury was at the time," he admitted. "But I had to stay positive and hope everything went well, which it did."

Making his debut against his former club so soon after his move is not a scenario Wallace would have chosen and he is hopeful the Hearts supporters at Ibrox tomorrow will not be too hard on him.

"It's tough luck the way it works out with the fixture but I just have to get on with it," he said. "It will be tough mentally if I play but I'm a Rangers player now and I want Rangers to win. I hope there is no hate from the Hearts fans towards me.

"I appreciate everything Hearts have done for me. The club and the supporters stood by me when things happened off the pitch and I'll always be thankful for that."

With Sasa Papac established as Rangers' first choice left-back, it remains to be seen where McCoist intends to fit Wallace into his side.

"Where I'll play hasn't been mentioned yet," said Wallace. "I just want to learn from the players who are here and break into the team. Because I've played at left-back for five or six years now, it's the position I've learned and got used to. I'd say that is my preferred position."