Ipswich Town new boy Martyn Waghorn says he is relishing the added pressure of wearing the iconic number nine shirt.

The 27-year-old arrived from Scottish giants Rangers in a cut-price deal on Monday – believed to be around £400k – and produced an encouraging cameo in Tuesday night’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win at League Two side Luton Town.

Inheriting the squad number that Daryl Murphy felt so empowered in following his switch from Celtic, Waghorn said: “It’s a great honour to wear the number nine shirt as a striker. It’s what you want. It’s great to have that opportunity and pressure. I like that, it’s fun.

“As a striker you’re judged on goals, so hopefully I can hit the ground running, get my first and crack on from there. You’ve got to back yourself. I know that if I’m playing and in the right zone then I will score goals. And I think I’m in a good place at the moment.”

The former Sunderland, Leicester and Wigan forward says it may well suit him and his family getting away from the goldfish bowl of Glasgow. And he’s promised Blues supporters he will give his all every time he pulls on the shirt.

“That’s what I base my game on,” he said, speaking ahead of Saturday’s game at Barnsley. “One thing I got taught growing up is that you can have an off day with the ball, but as long as your legs move you can still put in a shift.”

He added: “Being a Rangers player will always be part of my history, but that’s in the past now. I’m here and I want to have success at Ipswich Town.

“I know the history of this club. It’s a club which has had success in the past and I want to be a part of more success going forwards.”

Waghorn is reunited with his former team-mates Joe Garner (Rangers) and Emyr Huws (Wigan) at Portman Road and he’s impressed with the standard of the squad he joins.

“It’s a very competitive group of lads and I think that showed with the desire and the hunger showed on Tuesday night,” he said. “The Premier League is the best league in the world. I started there (with Sunderland) and definitely want to get back there. I think if we can keep going the way we’ve started then we’ve got a very good chance of being in and around the top end. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough league and a longs season, but hopefully it’s going to be a good one.”