Rangers defender Fabio Cardoso determined he will not be following Carlos Pena out the exit door

FABIO CARDOSO has vowed to stay and fight for his future at Rangers.

The Portuguese defender lost his first-team place after suffering a badly broken nose in his side’s League Cup semi-final defeat by Motherwell last October.

Cardoso is over the pain that followed a blow from Ryan Bowman’s elbow, but reclaiming his starting spot is taking a little longer.

It would be easy for him to follow the likes of Carlos Pena and look for a move, but the 23-year-old completely dismisses that idea.

His only aim is to get back playing, and to help Rangers put pressure on Celtic.

He said: “I’m going to be honest, I don’t want to give up.

“I could give up and try to get another team. But no, playing for Rangers is going to help me a lot in my career.

“Even when I’m not playing, I’m learning a lot as a person and a footballer.

“If the manager wants me, I want to stay.

“I will do all I can in training, and when I get a chance, I’m going to do everything to take it.”

Cardoso’s fellow countryman Bruno Alves may follow Pena out of the Ibrox exit door this month.

However, the former Vitoria Setubal player is in no rush to leave because Rangers no longer have a Portuguese manager in Pedro Caixinha.

Graeme Murty’s style has impressed Cardoso and he has fallen in love with Glasgow – even the weather!

He went on: “The manager says things face-to-face. He never hides, he never plays games behind your back.

“In his day, he was a good footballer and he understands the game.

“It’s frustrating not to be playing regularly, but I have to respect his choice.

“In the last league game, against Celtic, Danny Wilson and David Bates did very well.

“If was playing and the manager then
left me out with no reason, I wouldn’t be happy.

“I respect my team-mates.

“My girlfriend and I are loving the city, even the cold.

“I saw snow for the first time in Glasgow. It’s very nice, and the people are making me feel like I’m at home.”

Cardoso played against big teams like Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon before moving to Ibrox in a £1.3m deal last summer.

Despite the turmoil of a manager being fired and his injury, he has no regrets about the transfer.

He said: “It would be impossible not to love playing for Glasgow Rangers.

“The top teams in Portugal have a lot of supporters, but our fans are different. When we have an away game, I feel like we’re playing at home.

“Even in America, very far from Scotland, we had a lot more supporters in Orlando than Atletico Mineiro of Brazil did.

“They are very passionate about football and we feel we have to do more for them.

“Of course, I was angry when I suffered the broken nose, not because of the injury but because we lost the semi-final and we were out of the cup.

“We wanted to win, but that belongs in the past.

“I can’t stop to think about it being bad and what I can do different – I have to move on.”

Cardoso was delighted to be back playing during Rangers’ transatlantic trip to take part in the Florida Cup.

He took great encouragementfor the remainder of the season from the 1-1 draw with Celtic at Parkhead before the break.

He said: “We should have won that game.

“We played better than Celtic but failed to take a lot of chances.

“We put Celtic under pressure for the entire game at their ground and that proves that we are improving.

“It will be a big second-half of the season and I want to help, whether I’m in or out of the side.

“We’re going to do our best to win all the games and put some pressure on Celtic.”