Lovenkrands signs Gers deal

On the eve of the Gers' title shoot-out, Lovenkrands's decision to commit himself to the Glasgow giants is a massive boost.

Lovenkrands's contract had been due to expire next summer, but the 23-year-old has inked a deal to keep him at Ibrox until 2006.

The Danish international has spent three years with The Gers and was overjoyed the contract negotiations had concluded successfully.

"I have always said I wanted to stay with Rangers for as long as possible and I'm delighted the contract discussions have been completed," Lovenkrands told the club's official website.

"We started talking back in January but we decided to put negotiations on hold until nearer the end of the season.

"I wanted to stay and Rangers wanted me to stay so it was fairly easy to sort out the details.

"I have everything to look forward to in the seasons ahead. There are a lot of young players at this club I can achieve succcess with."

Gers boss Alex McLeish was equally delighted the protracted discussions had reached a fruitful climax and believes Lovenkrands's decision to follow the lead of several team-mates bodes well for the club's future.

"We are absolutely delighted that Peter has decided to pledge himself to Rangers for a further two years," beamed McLeish.

"He is a young player who has already achieved success at a young age and he will only look to get better and go from strength to strength.

"It is important that we continue to develop our younger players and if you look at our squad we have a nucleus of young players who will be the cornerstone of the first-team for many seasons ahead - guys like Barry Ferguson, Maurice Ross, Bob Malcolm, Mikel Arteta, Fernando Ricksen and Peter are all 25 and under.

"We are in a fortunate position to have experience among many of our players even although they are still young."