Darcheville: “I’ll always be a Rangers fan”

Jean Claude Darcheville will depart Glasgow Rangers on January 1 to bolster the squad of ailing Ligue 1 outfit Valenciennes, but the former French international leaves with lifelong memories from his stint in the Scottish capital and has admitted he will forever be a fan.

Darcheville was an ever-present figure in Rangers’ famed tilt at the unprecedented quadruple and epitomised the season that brought the jubilation of the domestic cup double along with the anti-climatic finale to their voyage for UEFA Cup and league glory. He contributed to the cause on all four campaigns in the quest for silverware and scored a credible tally of 15 goals in all competitions, including the notable winner against Sporting Lisbon which ensured progression to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. While Darcheville might not be remembered for scoring a seemingly imposing amount of goals, he can leave with the proud statistic that his strike-rate of one goal every 105 minutes in 2007/08 equalled that of his proficient team-mate Kris Boyd.

Opportunities to impress have become rarer after Walter Smith reinforced his offensive options with the incomings of Lithuanian Andrius Velicka, Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty. Eager for additional minutes on the pitch in the form of first-team football, Darcheville made the difficult decision to return to his homeland and with the mission of dragging the relegation-threatened Valenciennes from the murky depths of Ligue 1.

When 2008 grinds to a halt and the fresh calendar year of 2009 awakens, Darcheville will be bound for France and set for new pastures but his heart will still lie in Glasgow.

"It will be good to go back to France because I'll be able to see my family there but I really enjoyed playing for Rangers. It was one of the highlights of my career and last year was my best season because we won two cups and I scored lots of goals. I have good friends here who I can call when I leave and I'll always be a Rangers fan." Darcheville told the official website.

Walter Smith praised Darcheville for his ‘good season for us last year’ and felt ‘he was a good character’ both on the pitch and in the dressing room, but conceded he was keen to return to his native country.

Valenciennes approach the winter perilously in 18th with Antoine Kombouare, the club’s coach, hoping “Jean-Claude can bring us 10% more in the battle against the drop."