MARK WARBURTON couldn’t reel in the prize when he took Brentford to America on his last pre-season trip abroad.
And the Rangers boss is confident his squad won’t get up to anything fishy this time around as they bond but don’t booze in South Carolina.
Warburton has spent the last few days putting his players through their paces at their Charleston base as Rangers step up their preparations for the new campaign.
Read more: Mark Warburton set to limit loan deals after bolstering Rangers ranks this summer
The Light Blues have had a tough schedule in the tricky conditions as they combine their work in the gym with fitness and tactical sessions on the training pitch.
But Warburton reckons the time off the park is just as important as several of his new recruits integrate themselves into the Gers squad ahead of the big kick-off.
He said: “If you're going to trust players, you trust them. You can't say you trust them one day and not the next. Or trust them to do this but not that.
“If you don' trust them they shouldn't be in the squad. That's how we see it.
"They know they have a session at twenty to five, before that they've got down time and they can do whatever they want to do.
“If you want to sit on the third floor by the pool for two hours, go and do it. Enjoy the sunshine, you've got ten months in Glasgow coming up.
"There's no alcohol at all on the trip. The only respite from that will be after the game, we'll come back to the hotel and have a private area and they can have a couple of beers to mark the end of the trip.
"But there will be no alcohol, they know that. There will be urine tests every morning so you can see everything and check everything but you have to trust people. If you don't the whole squad falls apart."
It has been a productive few days for Warburton so far as Matt Gilks, Clint Hill, Matt Crooks, Niko Kranjcar and Josh Windass have got off and running with Rangers.
After another couple of days on the training park at the MUSC Health Stadium, Warburton’s side will face local outfit Charleston Battery in their only warm-up game before the Betfred Cup opener away to Motherwell on Saturday, July 16.
Rangers spent last summer at their Auchenhowie base as Warburton assembled his squad for his first season in charge alongside assistant manager David Weir.
But the Englishman is confident his players will reap the rewards of their time socialising around the Palmetto City as the Gers build team spirit for a Premiership title bid.
Warburton said: "At Brentford we were in Sarasota and went out on a fishing competition, which was unbelievable, great for bonding.
“Forty of us went out, five teams of eight. Everyone put in fifty bucks and the winner took the lot.
“There were guys hauling in octopuses and squids and all sorts. It was great, we were out on the boat for four hours, then they cooked the fish the boys had caught in the hotel.
“The boys loved it. They were still talking about it a year later. I didn't win - getting hit by the octopus was as near as I came.
"They want to go skeet-shooting, don't ask me why. They've an afternoon off, an evening when they can go and have dinner either as a big group or in a few small groups.
“We try and treat them like adults. They're going to work hard but there will be a bit of down time as well. It was tough in terms of humidity.
"You can play golf, but certain things can't include everyone. Not everyone plays golf.”
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