MARK WARBURTON has spent much of the last few months praising the standard of facilities he has come across, like a potential home-buyer cooing over the fancy furnishings in a new build showhome. The new Rangers manager has been at the Murray Park training ground most days, and presided over his team’s opening competitive matches at Easter Road and Ibrox. This week, however, he gets to experience first-hand that not everywhere in Scottish football is like that. When Rangers journey to Alloa Athletic’s Indodrill Stadium today, and then Ayr United’s Somerset Park on Wednesday night, it will be an insight into how the other half live. It is a world away from the pristine dressing rooms, deluxe player lounges and all the other mod cons that have become an integral part of the game for those lucky enough to play at elite level.
Under previous management Rangers did not perform particularly well against Alloa last season but Warburton will at least be better prepared, having taken his players to train on the pitch earlier in the week. As someone who prides himself in his thoroughness and willingness to micro-manage every detail, there is little chance of Alloa or their surrounds delivering any huge shock to him this afternoon.
“The likes of Davie Weir [Rangers assistant manager] and Jim Stewart [goalkeeping coach] know these places well but the young lads we've brought in, this is an eye opener for them,” he said. “But it's all part of their education and dealing with it. This is the challenge – it doesn't matter what surface you play on whether it's grass, 3G, 4G, clay, dirt, whatever, just go and play. They’re good footballers so enjoy it.
“As long as we have Rangers fans there, we have a responsibility. There’ll be no negativity about the surface before, during or after. It was good to see the stadium, the surface, the surroundings, and to prepare for the game the other day. It is what it is so we’ll just go there and play well hopefully. I've been reminded once or twice [about the record last season] but this is a different squad. If we’re not prepared for the game on Sunday we’ll pay the price, simple as that.”
There will, of course, be no Scott Allan in the Rangers squad to face Danny Lennon’s side but two other names could both be handed debuts. Warburton has established a close relationship with Tottenham Hotspur that stretches back to his time with the Next Gen youth tournament and late last week it yielded two loan signings in the form of Nathan Oduwa and Dominic Ball.
The long-term strategy will be for the Murray Park youth academy to produce players good enough to negate the need to borrow teenage talent from others, but for the time being Warburton was happy to have the Tottenham pair on board.
“It’s a real thank you to Spurs as we’ve worked hard on these deals all summer,” he added. “I like players with flexibility of position. Nathan can play as a number 7, 8, 10, or 11, right across the park, and Dominic can play centre half or full back. They’re young internationals with a good pedigree from an outstanding academy. They have good physicality, they're quick and strong.
“I worked with Spurs during the Next Gen cup and they were outstanding to deal with. But it’s all very well being friends and being helpful, you have to show you have the right environment for them. So here’s the world class stadium, the 50,000 crowd, the great training centre, the analysis work, gym work, the nutrition - that’s the message we have to send out.”
In turn, Warburton will look to send out on loan a number of Rangers’ youth prospects, including Andy Murdoch, believing regular football will benefit them more than long stints sitting on the bench.
“Everyone talks about the kudos of getting on the bench but how many minutes did you play? None. Or maybe three minutes. It doesn't do anything for you.
“Why are the Spurs guys here? They could stay with the Spurs first team, train in great facilities and not bother but they wouldn't get better as players. So we have to send some of our young players out and make sure they get challenged appropriately.
“That’ll definitely be happening. There’s no point in players being comfortable in the under-20s, they need to be out playing for three points, being challenged. If we can do that we’ll be in good shape.”
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