Sun 19 Apr 09
Hibernian 2
Rangers 3
Goal

Sun 09 Nov 08
Kilmarnock 0
Rangers 4
Goal

Sun 27 Apr 08
Celtic 3
Rangers 2
Sending Off

STEVEN WHITTAKER completed his move to Ibrox on August 1, 2007 penning a five-year deal with the Light Blues.

Walter Smith paid £2million for a right-sided star who is comfortable in defence or midfield, to capture his ninth signing of the summer transfer window.

The move to Glasgow ended a lengthy affiliation with Hibs following Whittaker's move to Easter Road from Hutchison Vale Boys Club in 2001.

Although he made his first team debut two years later under Bobby Williamson, it was not until the arrival of Tony Mowbray that Steven really rose to prominence.

Almost immediately after his arrival in 2004 Whittaker was confirmed as the team's first choice right-back and he flourished into a reliable, efficient defender.

Those performances for Hibs cemented his place in the Scotland under-21 team and in October 2006 Smith called him up to the full squad.

The youngster was brought in to replace the suspended Christian Dailly for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Ukraine and although he didn't feature, it was an excellent boost for his confidence.

In his final season in Edinburgh he played almost every game for the Hibees and his consistently good performances caught the eye of several clubs, including Blackburn and Middlesbrough.

His one goal came against Rangers, when he scored Hibs' third in a cracking 3-3 draw.

Scoring would become a fairly regular feature of Whittaker's game after his move to Ibrox as he marked his debut with a goal in a 7-2 win over Falkirk.

It was the first of five spectacular strikes in his debut season. A sequence that culminated with the wonderful mazy run and finish that sealed a 2-0 win in Lisbon and earned the Light Blues a place in the UEFA Cup semi-final.

That strike earned Steven the club's Goal of the Season award, which he added to two domestic cup winner's medals in his first season in Govan.

As well as those five goals from open play he proved to be reliable from twelve yards, comfortably despatching penalties in the League Cup final and Scottish Cup and UEFA Cup semi finals.

At the start of the following season Whittaker found himself denied the opportunity to continue his good form, when a knee injury ruled him out of the first team until November.

On his return at Rugby Park he added another excellent strike to his tally with a flying volley that made him a contender for Goal of the Season for the second year running.

From that point Whittaker was a regular in Walter Smith's side, appearing in a number of positions across defence and in midfield.

His performances were enough to earn him his first full international call up for the double header against Holland and Iceland in March and April of 2009.

He was an unused substitute against Iceland at Hampden but returned to his club in fine form and added a further two goals that season including a barn storming strike at his old ground against Hibs.

With Kirk Broadfoot injured for the latter part of the 2008/09 campaign it was vital for Whittaker to maintain the consistent level his manager had been seeking from him.

And with some top drawer displays as the season climaxed with a hard earned double for the Gers, Whittaker was on the receiving end of Walter Smith's praise as one of his best players in that successful run-in.