Rangers outcast Andy Halliday has revealed he is preparing to hold talks about whether to turn his loan move in Azerbaijan into a permanent transfer.
The 25-year-old midfield anchorman made a surprise summer switch to Gabala in the former Soviet state in June after being frozen out at Ibrox.
Halliday had been among a number of senior players who were ordered by Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha to train with the youth team while looking for a new club.
Halliday has revealed that he has acclimatised well to football in Azerbaijan and will decide on his future he begins negotiations with the Gabala hierarchy at the end of the season out there.
“At the moment, two things are important for me – to play every week and to help my team win games,” Halliday said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“That’s my main goals. As to my future, I will talk with the leadership of Gabala at the end of the season.
“We are third in the league at the moment and we want to get higher of course. We have some very good players in the squad.
“When we you play with players as good as that, you do not have any problems in terms of adaptation. Every day I think I am adapting more out here.
“In Azerbaijan, the tempo of the game is very quick. At Gabala, we are getting better I think as the season progresses.
“Our manager, Roman Hryhorchuk is good for me. In many ways, we are similar in character. We both have a will to win.”
OPINION
Many Rangers fans will be sniffy about Halliday and claim he has found his level in the footballing wilderness of Azerbaijan. Yet the summer 2015 signing from Bradford made 90 appearances for the Scottish giants and was a key member of Mark Warburton’s 2015-16 Championship-winning outfit. He played a number of positions, including defensive midfield, attacking midfield and full-back, for Rangers and chipped in with 15 goals, too, 10 of which came in league matches. Halliday was far from the one-dimensional operator his critics had him down for. Yet, while the uncompromising Caixinha is in charge, there appears no way back for the Glaswegian at Ibrox.