Scotland striker Shankland named Rangers captain

Lawrence Shankland succeeds James Tavernier as Rangers captain

• Published29 July 2026, 14:13 BST

Lawrence Shankland says being named Rangers captain has exceeded the dream he had of playing for his boyhood team.

The 30-year-old striker only joined the club two months ago from Hearts, where he also wore the armband and scored 88 goals in 171 games.

The Scotland forward succeeds previous long-serving captain James Tavernier, who led the Ibrox side to a Europa League final and won the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup during his 11 years in Govan.

The news comes two days before Derek McInnes' side start their league campaign at Dundee United on Friday (20:00 BST).

"As a lifelong supporter, it was a dream to be here in the first place, but to get the opportunity to captain the club is a huge honour," Shankland said.

"I believe since I've come here the only way I've learned how to behave around the place is to act like a captain and be a leader within the group.

"I always look to myself to set examples on the training pitch and do things properly around the place.

"It's not just myself - Dan Neil and Ben Godfrey are experienced players who have been around clubs and have been captains. It's about all of us setting examples."

Scottish Premiership: Dundee Utd v Rangers

Friday, 31 July (20:00 BST)

Tannadice Park

Listen to live match commentary of the opening match of the new Scottish Premiership season on BBC Sounds and watch highlights on the BBC iPlayer.

Related topics

• Football
• Scottish Football
• Scottish Premiership
• Rangers

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