JASON HOLT, the Rangers midfielder, believes arrival of Joey Barton will bring out the best in him next season as he looks to maintain his place at the centre of Mark Warburton’s plans in the Premiership.
Barton has already made his presence felt in Scottish football after making the move north of the border from Burnley last month and Gers supporters are eagerly anticipating seeing the 33-year-old in action next term. The capture of Niko Kranjcar has added further competition for attacking places in Warburton’s squad as he prepares for a shot at the Premiership title in the coming months.
Holt was a key part of Warburton’s plans last season as Rangers lifted the Championship title and Petrofac Training Cup and reached the Scottish Cup final. But the former Hearts star knows the capture of Barton has added strength and depth to Warburton’s ranks as he faces a fight for a starting jersey at Ibrox.
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“There is competition for places all over the park, in every area,” he said. “It can only be good for a squad and a club of our size. Competition is healthy for our squad and it can only push every individual player to do even better.
“I speak for the rest of the players as well, we’re really looking forward to playing with him (Barton), training with him and being in and around him on a day to day basis. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from him, along with the other experienced players who have come into the club over the summer.
“I was quite happy with how that went on the goal scoring front. When I signed for Rangers I always said I wanted to make use of the freedom that would be given in the middle of the park and get some goals under my belt. Scoring 12, I was happy, but I’ll never rest on my laurels. I want to get more and this season will be the same. I want to push and push and see where it takes me.
“It’s a challenge. When new players come in, and there’s competition for places all over the park. It’s healthy, it keeps everyone on their toes. It’s up to whoever has the jersey to do well and keep it. Pre-season’s important on the front as well, so we’re ready when the season starts.”
After returning to action at their Murray Park base last week, Rangers jetted out to South Carolina on Monday morning for a pre-season training camp ahead of the big kick-off. Warburton will put his squad through their paces over the next ten days and will face local side Charleston Battery in a friendly before they return to Glasgow.
Rangers kick-off their campaign with four Betfred Cup ties but it is the Premiership opener against Hamilton that fans are counting down to and Holt knows Warburton’s side have to live up to lofty expectations next term.
“The size of the club, we won’t expect anything less than being up there and trying to win the league,” he said. “We know it’ll be tough, we’re not under any illusions.
“We’ll be well-equipped, the gaffer’s made great signings. Everyone’s looking forward to getting going. We’re back in the SPL and it’s great for the club.”
Rangers may be preparing for a Premiership title challenge but European football will not be on their agenda after they suffered Hampden heartache in the Scottish Cup final. Defeat last month was a disappointing end to an otherwise encouraging campaign as Warburton’s side turned in a series of impressive performances and saw off Kilmarnock, Dundee and Celtic on their road to the final.
Rangers didn’t have much time to dwell on what might have been before they returned to training ahead of the new campaign and now, with the big kick-off is just weeks away, Holt is determined to banish the final memories as he looks forward to an intriguing campaign in Scottish football.
“It (the season) was good, the main aim was promotion back to the Premiership so in that sense we achieved our goal and winning the Petrofac Cup gave the players and fans a great day out,” he said. “The Scottish Cup final was a massive disappointment and it was a real shame we couldn’t cap the season off with the trophy, but we have a new campaign to look forward to now and we’re looking to push on from here.
“It stuck with me the whole summer and I’m sure that’s the same with a lot of the boys. Any defeat and the way it happened and stuff like that was massively disappointing. I was really gutted, constantly thinking about it over the summer and that’s why I’m especially itching to get in and enjoy a fresh season and push on.”
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