Wigan Athletic star heading in the right direction to kickstart his career

The 21-year-old from Barnet ended his eight-year association with Chelsea last month by joining Latics on a permanent basis.

After spending last season on loan with Gary Caldwell's Exeter City, Rankine jumped at the chance of joining Latics after hearing Shaun Maloney's vision for the future.

And he started as he means to go on by marking his debut at Accrington at the weekend with his maiden goal.

"This is the perfect move for me," said Rankine, who can cover full-back and wing-back as well as his preferred position out on the wing.

"The gaffer has been really great with me from the first time I met him. It's a big step for me to move up here, but it's one I wanted to take and I know it will be good for my career."

Rankine was in the right place at the right time at the Wham! Stadium, applying the finishing touch after Elijah Igiebon's shot had been parried by the Accy goalkeeper.

But it was his overall display that showed why Maloney and sporting director Gregor Rioch had made him a priority signing this summer.

"Getting on the outside, getting on the wing, getting one-v-one, creating chances is what my game is all about," he said.

"I've definitely set myself a target for the year that I'm aiming for - but it's something I'd like to keep to myself for the moment. If I get there, I'll let you know what it is!"

After two weeks of hard graft at Christopher Park, sandwiching seven days over at the Hungarian Training Centre, Rankine and Latics were happy to get out there on the grass at Accrington.

"It was a good day in all, good minutes, and always nice to get a goal, hopefully it's the start of something," he said.

"It's good to have a good run out after all the training, and I thought the boys looked really sharp for the first game. There's a lot for us to work on obviously, we've a long way to go, but there was plenty to build on, we created a lot of chances and looked good going forward."

Next up for Latics is a double-header this weekend, with a trip to Chorley on Friday night swiftly followed by Saturday's journey to the coast to face AFC Fylde.

"It's been a really easy settling in period, everyone's made me feel right at home," added Rankine. "You start to make those bonds off the pitch, and now the matches have started we're starting to do the same on the field.

"Hopefully we can take more steps forward this weekend at Chorley and Fylde, and get some more partnerships going."

Latics then have three more friendlies on the calendar before the League One campaign begins on August 10 with the visit of Charlton Athletic.

They travel to Tranmere on Friday, July 26, host Blackburn on Saturday, July 27, before travelling up to Barrow on Saturday, August 3.