Alan Hutton has stacked up more column inches during his first couple of months in the Premier League than most players manage in an entire season. The former Rangers defender's marauding style has attracted many plaudits and facilitated his duck-to-water-like immersion in English football.

The 23-year-old has also been plastered over the back pages in the past week after being on the receiving end of a shocking tackle by Ashley Cole, in Tottenham's 4-4 draw with Chelsea, for which the England full-back later issued a public apology. Oh, and Hutton also won the Carling Cup with his new side last month, and had his second child last week.

He could have been forgiven for sporting a frazzled demeanour at Loch Lomond yesterday, but the lugubrious defender seems to have taken the events of recent months in his stride. Of the decision to swap Ibrox for White Hart Lane in January, he was enthusiastic.

"I've really enjoyed everything," he said. "Spurs are a very good team who like to play football. The boys have helped me settle in very quickly. To be involved in some of the games I have, and then play in the Carling Cup final, inside the first couple of months, has been brilliant. I've not felt that I've had to try and prove myself, I've just been trying to do what I did here."

Hutton's move to Spurs was the on-off saga of the last transfer window. He took his time over the decision, leading to speculation that he was holding out for a move to Manchester United in the summer. He denied that Old Trafford was ever an option.

"It was getting written about because I was taking my time,"

he said. "People thought I was holding off to go somewhere else.

I wasn't. I never knew anything about the Man United thing.

I was only taking my time because I thought it was a massive decision for myself and my family.

"Growing up supporting Rangers and then playing for them, that in itself made it a hard choice to leave. In my head I wanted to finish the season with Rangers before I went down. But at the end of the day, £9m for a right-back is a lot of money.

I can understand that it's a business too, so Rangers were obviously going to try and take the money.

"It happened in January and that is fine. Rangers are happy and I'm happy. I'm just glad to be down there playing now. I knew I was able to cope with the pressures of the big games down there. To go down and be involved in what I have been over the last wee while has been worth it."

If there was one aspect of Hutton's game which required improvement it was his defending, and he admitted that he has had to curb some of his attacking tendencies since the move south. "You have to know when to do it and when not to," he admitted.

"If you make a run forward and it's not on then they can punish you with one pass in behind. I think concentration-wise you have to be on your toes every second of the game. If you switch off for a second then, with the kind of player down there, they can go by you in an instant. I think there's definitely a better standard down there.

"Week in, week out, you are playing against international players. You really have to be careful. You become a quicker thinker when playing against top players. That's one of the reasons I went down there. Overall, I think I've coped with it well."

Hutton has enjoyed working with Juande Ramos and hopes that the club can mount a serious challenge under the Spaniard next season. "We are in mid-table just now and didn't have the best start to the season, but I'm sure we will be building for next season. Hopefully, with the squad we have we will be able to do something. He likes to go into tactics a lot more than other managers I've worked with. He wants everybody to know exactly what they're doing on the park."

Hutton has also been the unwanted centre of attention since Cole's X-rated challenge. The moment has been shown over and over on TV leading Cole to issue a public apology. The England international also privately expressed his regret and Hutton was eager to play down the incident.

"It happened so quickly that I didn't even think about it. I thought it looked worse than it was. Yes, it was high, but the ball was up in the air and it was one of those things.

It happens all the time and probably will continue to happen, it's just a part of football.

"It's not a problem. I saw him and he said it wasn't meant and I knew that. He didn't try and hurt me, he was just going for the ball. It was one of those things. The coverage was unbelievable - it was all over the news for days. It was a bit strange to get that much coverage over one tackle."

Hutton could become the first player to win medals in Scotland and England in the same season, if Rangers pick up the league title.

The defender played in enough games during the first half of the season to qualify for a medal to go with the Carling Cup bauble. "It would feel weird because I'm not really a part of it any more."