Deserted Ibrox won’t faze Bassey when he makes breakthrough

CALVIN BASSEY has arrived in a star-studded dressing room as a Rangers rookie only five years after being plucked from Hackney Marshes to belatedly find a path into the professional game.

However, he already owns one experience he hopes can be replicated many times alongside his more illustrious team-mates — thrashing the opposition in front of an empty Ibrox Stadium.

Bassey was in a young Leicester City team that scored a 6-1 success over Graeme Murty’s Rangers development squad in Govan in September 2017.

The full-back conceded a penalty, converted by Ryan Hardie to level the score, but the visitors from the East Midlands powered away to victory with five second-half goals.

Such are the peculiarities of this Scottish season, or at least the first couple of months, that Bassey and Steven Gerrard’s established stars will need to grow accustomed to playing in front of a deserted home ground.

‘I remember when I came up with Leicester to play at Ibrox — and it was great,’ the 20-year-old enthused. ‘It was amazing just to play out on the pitch and you felt the history around the stadium.

‘Even though there were no fans watching us that day, I imagined what it would be like if there was a 50,000 crowd and it was amazing.

‘It will be bittersweet if I make my debut and there are no fans but we will just have to wait and see.’

While Bassey (below) did not gatecrash the Leicester first team for an appearance, he was promoted to train with them on several occasions.

Andy King and James Maddison are two training-ground allies who have said nice things about Bassey since learning he was leaving for Glasgow.

They can also offer a different story of a packed Ibrox and its pulsating atmosphere.

King’s loan spell last season was brief and relatively unfulfilling but he did make two outings there including a late substitute appearance as Feyenoord were defeated on a big Europa League night.

England international Maddison played for Aberdeen in a 2-1 defeat at Ibrox but will have more fond memories of a stunning free-kick winner to beat Mark Warburton’s Rangers at Pittodrie earlier in the 2016/17 campaign.

Bassey — a scorer in a bounce game against Hamilton on Friday — quizzed Maddison about his eye-catching time on loan in the Scottish top flight.

‘I spoke to James Maddison about Scottish football as he was with Aberdeen,’ he revealed. ‘I was asking him about his experiences up here and how he found it. He told me to give my all, work hard and do my thing on the training ground.

‘Then, when my chance comes along, to take it. He thought I could do well, so hopefully he is right.’

A word in the ear of one of the Premier League’s ace playmakers wasn’t required to convince Bassey that Rangers were right for him.

The defender was already sufficiently bowled over by the interest from Gerrard to jettison options of offers from Bayer Leverkusen and West Ham.

Rated at £3million, Rangers were able to take advantage of the cross-border loophole to secure the powerful left-back for as little as £230,000.

‘It’s not an easy decision to make on your future for someone as young as me but as soon as Rangers came in it was a privilege to join a world-famous club with a lot of history,’ he said.

‘The gaffer is a legend of the game and this is a massive club. All the other options left my head the minute Rangers came in. I’m just focusing on where I’m at now and I will do my ultimate to become as good as I can and fulfil my potential.

‘I can see there’s great intensity in training here and everyone is on at each other to get the best out of each

other.’