Emmanuel Fernandez ‘can’t be more grateful’ after signing for Rangers
New Rangers signing Emmanuel Fernandez has revealed how he had to dig deep to revive his dream of a career in professional football.
The 23-year-old centre-back joined Gers on a four-year deal on Wednesday after a standout season with Peterborough in League One last term.
But Fernandez recalled being placed in limbo in 2020 when he was released by Gillingham as a teenager and signed for non-league Ramsgate before Peterborough eventually offered him a route back into league football in 2021.
“My journey from being let go by a club, playing non-league during the Covid season, not really having a club and then obviously getting an opportunity at Peterborough, where it took me a while to start playing, but eventually I played and after fully playing (last season), to get this move, I can’t be more grateful,” he said in an interview with Rangers TV.
“I think it was my family behind me, pushing me and making sure they kept me on the right tracks to train harder. If I didn’t have a club, train and just push myself to the next level because during Covid you couldn’t really do much. But I’d go to the park, do runs sometimes, bring my brother along with me, so that’s what pushed me to get to this point in my career.”
Even after being handed an olive branch by Peterborough four years ago, Fernandez had to be patient. After being loaned to Barnet in 2022-23, it was only in the 2023-24 season he started to get game time with the Posh before kicking on to become a key player for Darren Ferguson’s side last term.
“I can’t be more grateful to them because they developed me as a player,” he said. “When I came in, understanding the game at first-team level was a bit different, but they pushed me to the level I got to today. Whether I made mistakes, whether I’d done good, they always supported me. I enjoyed my time there.”
Fernandez, who became Gers’ fourth signing of the summer, is heartened by his new club’s show of faith in him.
“It means a lot because to be given a four-year deal, that means there’s trust,” he said. “It’s definitely a big step from where I’m coming from, but I feel like this is the perfect place for me to be.
“The manager, I spoke to him, he seems amazing and he’s going to help me in all types of ways and the staff around seems amazing so it’s going to be very good for me.”
Fernandez believes he will slot nicely into Russell Martin’s team.
“It feels like the team’s building and is going to grow under a new manager,” he said. “I’ve seen his style of play and it’s a style of play that I’m used to, coming from Peterborough so it’s something I definitely can’t wait to get started on.
“I can bring leadership qualities, I’m aggressive, I win the majority of my headers and I can play as well and I also score goals and hopefully keep a lot of clean sheets.”