Football
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Joe Dodoo says he didn't leave Leicester to sit on Rangers bench

New Rangers signing Joe Dodoo has warned his fellow strikers he has no intention of sitting on the bench after leaving Premier League champions Leicester.

The 21-year-old rejected a contract offer from Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri in order to link up with Gers manager Mark Warburton.

Dodoo marked his first appearance with a goal after tapping home for his new side during Friday's 3-0 Betfred Cup win at East Stirlingshire, but he had been forced to spend the first hour of the Ochilview clash watching from the bench as Warburton started with veteran hitman Kenny Miller.

He can expect to make his first start when Rangers round off their Group H schedule at home to Stranraer on Monday night -- however, in the long term he faces competition from last season's top scorer Martyn Waghorn, Miller, Barrie McKay, Josh Windass and Michael O'Halloran for a starting berth.

He has therefore pledged to work hard to ensure he is named in the first XI.

Dodoo said: "I've come to play. I'm here to work hard for my place. That's the same for everybody coming in, they have to put the effort in. Nobody signs up and goes straight into the team.

"You have to work hard everyday and compete with your team-mates and see if you can get the nod to start."

The former England youth international, who is also eligible to represent Ghana, tapped home his debut goal from a Lee Wallace assist in stoppage time.

"It was great to get off the mark," he said. "I'm looking to play and get some minutes, so I was happy to get a 30-minute run-out. It was a good result, a win and a goal on my debut made it even better. So I'm very happy.

"As a striker you always want to get off to a good start so to get a goal early is good for the confidence and now I want to kick on.

"It's a new club and a new team for me. I still need to get used to the players here but this is a good start in terms of learning a little bit about them, their intentions and what they want to do with the ball."

Dodoo passed on the chance to continue working with Ranieri's title-winning team to instead join a Gers outfit readying themselves for a top-flight return.

But he insists he had little hesitation making the decision to move north.

He said: "Rangers is a big club, a very prestigious club, so I was more than happy to come up to Scotland and play.

"I'm happy to be here and sign for Rangers. It has always been a big club and that will never change."

Meanwhile, Windass may be rested for the visit of Stranraer after limping off at half-time with a tight hamstring but Joey Barton is likely to feature after missing the victory at Ochilview. Warburton's only other absentee is Windass' former Accrington team-mate Matt Crooks (ankle).

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