Sebo: "I'm no flop"

It may have taken 12 months and a wicked deflection against Chelsea - but after his goal, the Slovakian striker believes he has finally found the confidence he needs to become a regular fixture in Walter Smith's plans.

Sebo failed to repay the £1.8million Rangers - and previous boss Paul Le Guen - invested in him last summer, with a poor return of just two goals in his debut season.

The woeful record saw him mercilessly mocked by supporters of rival clubs, most notably Celtic fans.

While Nacho Novo's late opener in Saturday's 2-0 win over Chelsea had the crowd on their feet, Ibrox positively vibrated as more than 50,000 fans celebrated Sebo's deflected strike off the body of Tal Ben Haim a minute later.

Sebo has already demonstrated his commitment to making a fresh start in the campaign ahead by shedding excess pounds over the summer and unveiling a new, trimmer physique.

"It's good that the fans love me," he said.

"It's very important for me, because my confidence is not so high now with the two goals last season.

"I always try to be positive and I hope next season will be a better season for me and for the fans as well.

"I want to show what I can do next season and try to fight for the place in the first team. I know what I can do, and that's why I stayed here for next season - I wanted to fight.

"I trust myself and I want to show all the fantastic fans here that I can score goals and I can play for Rangers.

"I just want to do more than last year and show better football and more goals than last year."

He is not about to set specific targets, however.

"I don't want to say that if I don't score the goals by winter I will go away. I've never said that I wanted to leave the club," he notes.

"I want to stay around the club. The club is okay with me, and all I want is to have a better season than last year."

With Kris Boyd and Jean-Claude Darcheville shaping up to be Walter Smith's preferred pairing up front, Sebo's strike against Chelsea may not quite be enough to see him given the nod for Tuesday's Champions League qualifier against FK Zeta.

He said: "I am happy with the goal - it was very important for me. I wanted to to score a goal, so I am pleased and I will see if I play on Tuesday.

"I think we are ready for Tuesday night. I'm really, really pleased with the squad - because we have shown that we can beat anyone.

"Chelsea is one of the best clubs in the world, and we beat them 2-0 - so we can say we are ready for the Champions League and looking forward to Tuesday's game.

"Our confidence is very high, and we must show it again in this game."