Kaspars GORKŠS

D.O.B.

06/11/1981

Birthplace

Riga, Latvia

Height

6' 3

Weight

13st 5lbs (85.0kg)

Position

Defender

Signed

31-07-08

Fee

Undisclosed

Former Clubs

Osters IF, FK Ventspils, Blackpool

International

Latvia

Pen Pic

After a brief spell in Sweden, Gorkss returned to Latvia and was triumphant winning the league title in 2006 with Ventspils. He later went on to play against Newcastle United in the UEFA Cup the following season.

The defender born in the capital, Riga, has made 10 appearances for his international side, scoring 2 goals. His arrival on the scene at Blackpool has drawn him several plaudits making 40 league appearances this season scoring 5 goals, one of which was a consolation at Loftus Road in a 3-2 win for the R`s.

The Gorkss saga had aroused the suspicions of Blackpool when they accused the R's of making an illegal approach for the Latvian international. Both manager Simon Grayson and maligned chairman Karl Oyston had sore misgivings over the way the R`s approached the deal.

However with Zesh Rehman joining Blackpool on loan it paved the way for the deal for the Latvian international to be done.

Gorkss penned a three year deal with Rangers in July 2008.

After an initial spell on the sidelines he flourished under the guidance of Paulo Sousa only being pipped to the player of the year award by defensive colleague Damion Stewart.

He has been a consistent first team selection since then, extending into the managerial reign of Neil Warnock.