Jermain Defoe 'overwhelmed' by Rangers fan messages as emotional striker confesses Ibrox bench warming got him down

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Emotional Jermain Defoe says he's "overwhelmed" by the response to his exit from Ibrox. And the departing Rangers striker admits his transition into coaching under Steven Gerrard probably came too early.

39-year-old Defoe was part of Gerrard 's backroom team last season while he continued to contribute on the pitch as Gers stormed to the league title.

However his minutes on the pitch this season were virtually non-existent even before his former boss left for Aston Villa.Gio van Bronckhorst allowed him to focus solely on playing as he brought his own backroom team to Ibrox but Defoe featured just once in a stoppage time cameo under the Dutchman.

And while he's holding no grudges, Defoe admits he had to leave Ibrox because his lack of playing time was getting him down."Towards the end it was pretty clear I wasn't going to get the chances I wanted," he said on Sky Sports' Transfer Show."I wasn't getting in the squads but I was still holding onto it.