Tony Weston hopes he can contribute for Cove Rangers after his “no-brainer” move to the Balmoral Stadium.
Weston has joined on loan for the rest of the season, having spent the first half of the campaign at fellow Championship side Partick Thistle.
He made 18 appearances for the Jags but only one of those came from the start, as he was restricted to a series of cameo appearances off the bench.
The teenager sees his move to Cove as an ideal chance to get his campaign back on track.
“I had a lot of options to go into League One,” said Weston. “It was basically last-minute and Cove must have heard about me.
“I spoke to (academy director) Craig Mulholland and he mentioned a few clubs were interested. We heard there was interest from Cove but we didn’t know how serious it was.
“I had to wait a few days but they were keen to take me and it was a no-brainer. The way they play and the league they are in, it’s where I want to be.
“I hope I can contribute with goals and assists, get on the pitch and impact games.”
From Blackpool to Rangers
Weston joined Rangers from Blackpool in 2020 and made his senior debut for the club against Hearts in May last year.
He has scored regularly for the B team in the Lowland League but with his contract up at Ibrox in the summer, Weston sees this as a chance to put himself in the shop window.
“When you come on in any game, it’s an opportunity to put yourself in the shop window,” he added. “You’re aware there’s always people watching.
💬 The manager on the signing of Tony Weston.#CRFC
— Cove Rangers FC (@CoveRangersFC) January 19, 2023
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Rangers. I joined at under-18s during Covid and it was tough, as I was going back down the road and coming back up.
“The last season was the best for me as I was playing men’s football in a full-time schedule. I got a good run of games and scored loads of goals.
“That’s when I probably felt at home here in Glasgow.”
Time was right for Rangers return
Weston has no regrets about his loan at Firhill either, however the time was right to come back to Rangers and look for something new.
“It can be frustrating at times, especially at my age when you want to be playing games,” he said.
“Everything was fine there but I wasn’t really getting much opportunity. I wouldn’t have got much opportunity staying there.
“It was the right thing to do to pull out and look elsewhere.”
The opportunity to test himself at Championship level again proved appealing to Weston, who has been reunited with his former Rangers colleague Kyle McClelland at Cove.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league,” he said. “It’s a tough league so you need to get points on the board.
“At Cove we’re wanting to climb the table, so there’s got to be a demand on us to put a show on for the fans and come back in with three points.”
Conversation