STEVEN NAISMITH has said his conscience is clear after refusing to switch his contract to Charles Green’s newco Rangers and joining Everton on a free transfer.
The Scotland forward completed his move on the day Rangers were excluded from the Scottish Premier League and has been criticised for leaving without generating Green’s company a fee of around €2.5 million.
Naismith, along with the rest of the Rangers squad, took a 75 per cent pay cut last season on the understanding they could leave for reduced fees this summer.
However, with Rangers entering liquidation and serious doubts over what division they will play in next season, Naismith, along with nine other players, refused to transfer his contract from “old” to “new” Rangers and signed a four-year contract with Everton as a free agent.
The deal is not officially complete, as the striker’s registration has not been released and it may ultimately fall to the Players’ Status Committee at Fifa to finalise the transfer.
Naismith explained: “One good thing to come out of us taking a wage cut was that every member of staff moved over to the new company. And whether they were made redundant or not, they would get a good severance package for the length of time they worked for the old company.
“We couldn’t do much more, but there is going to be a degree of disappointment with the way the players have left, but it has been the hardest decision for a lot of them, whether to leave or transfer over.”
Everton have now signed two of Rangers’ best players – Naismith and Nikica Jelavic – for a combined €6.2 million this year and David Moyes admitted to capitalising on the turmoil at Ibrox.
“The situation at Rangers gave us an opening,” said the Everton boss. “It is a tragedy for Glasgow Rangers. They don’t know what division they are going to be in next season but all players want to play at the highest level.”
Moyes has also been linked with several other free agents, and he confirmed he still hopes to re-sign Steven Pienaar on a permanent basis from Tottenham.
“We’re keen and I hope in time we would be able to conclude that deal. Steven has made it clear he wants to come back here and my understanding is that hasn’t changed.”
Stiliyan Petrov believes he’s conquered “the hardest bit” in his battle against leukaemia. The Aston Villa player says he’s taken inspiration via messages from other people who have won their fight against the illness while undergoing treatment for the past three months. “I know I’ve got a few more months of chemotherapy and I need to go through it, but I think that the hardest bit is over and I just need to wait for the result to be positive.”
