Norwich City defender Steven Whittaker has backed Rangers to bounce back to the top of the Scottish game despite his sadness at seeing his former club languishing in Division Three.

Whittaker left Ibrox in the summer following the club's financial problems which saw the giants liquidated before being re-formed and placed in Division Three.

Whittaker and a host of other star names decided to seek pastures new but the 28-year-old is confident it is only a matter of time before Rangers are fighting it out with Celtic once again at the top of the Premier League north of the border.

'It's a massive club and you can see with their attendances this season that they will bounce back,' said Whittaker, who has impressed during his first two appearances for the Canaries after overcoming a long-term ankle problem. 'They will get back to where they were before.

'When you look at the SPL you're used to Rangers and Celtic fighting it out as the top two but they're not even there.'

Whittaker found it hard to leave the Scottish giants but insists the players bear no responsibility for the club's fall from grace.

'It was hard – the players had no fault in the circumstances of it all,' he added. 'It was really sad the way it ended – nobody wanted to see that. The players definitely didn't want it to end like that but we all had to move on.'

City boss Chris Hughton was delighted to bring in the Scotland international in the summer and his displays against Spurs and Stoke show why the club worked so hard to get him to Carrow Road this summer.

Whittaker is delighted to finally have a chance to impress after ankle surgery in the summer got his Canaries career off to a false start.

'No-one wants to get injured when they come to a new club but once I had got my head around it I knew I had to just concentrate on my rehab,' he said. 'I got a chance against Spurs to come in and try and do well – I did okay and held my spot.

'I was delighted we could win the game (against Stoke) and we're getting a bit of momentum now. It's important that we pick up points here at home.'