Ready. It is a single word that has been the motto of Rangers for generations, but it has surely never had as much relevance as it does for the team, staff and supporters that bubbled with anticipation inside Ibrox here.
Fans arrived for this Betfred Cup tie with Stranraer with scarves draped around their necks claiming their team were ‘back where they belong’, banishing endless stories of journeys, trips to far-flung outposts of Scotland and how they came so close to returning to the Scottish top flight a year ago.
The truth is they have never been more ready than they are now for dealing with the burden that will surely come with the significant weight of expectation held by most of the 30,000 in attendance in Govan for this 3-0 stroll.
Read more: Mark Warburton: Rangers in a good place as season kick off comes into view
Following the acquisition of the Ladbrokes Championship title at this very ground almost four months ago, Mark Warburton witnessed a downturn in performance that saw them win just one out of seven games. Undeniably their mental focus had already shifted to this forthcoming campaign.
With that backdrop, it will come as little surprise that Rangers went into this tie on the back of four wins – including beating Charleston Battery – and it will be even less of a shock that Brian Reid’s team were swept aside in what was the final competitive dress rehearsal before the Glasgow club unfurl the Championship flag against Hamilton Academical on August 6.
Rangers dominated from the start to book their place in the knock-out phase of the revamped League Cup with a swagger a Maryhill lothario would be proud of, but one that was carried off with purposefulness and focus. Something that was not always prevalent in the previous campaign.
An early lead was garnered after just four minutes but there was not even the merest whiff over the scent of simmering Bovrils in the sunshine that a foot would be taken off the gas. This is a Rangers team eager to start at full throttle.
Just as his players have been fixating on arriving in the upper-most echelon of Scottish football, it was clear in Warburton’s team selection that he too is winding up for that landmark date in just under two weeks.
In his starting line-up the Rangers manager fielded what is his strongest team to date. Marquee signing Joey Barton was given his first start as he took up a deep lying midfield role, while Niko Kranjcar and Martyn Waghorn, both whom scored, enjoyed further starts. Perhaps only Clint Hill or Jordan Rossiter, the latter getting on for the last half hour, could add to what will very likely be the starting XI for the forthcoming campaign.
It would be foolish to measure the weight of their title challenge on the back of how the performed against a League One side. Nevertheless, there were signs that the expansive, passing and patient play seen last season has definitely been cranked up a notch.
The blueprint that saw Rangers romp to the Championship last season was still evident here. James Tavernier marauded forward with gusto while still displaying a penchant for a good dither at the back, Barrie McKay's quick feet hugged the left touchline as if he was a trapeze artist standing on a tightrope before bursting down the wing, while the reluctance to toss a corner or set piece into the box has not deserted Warburton's team. From the outset, though, it was clear the mixture of old and new clicked against a Stranraer side that, despite winning their first two games in Group F, shot themselves in the foot within seconds at busy and boisterous Ibrox.
Those keen to see what Barton can do in the flesh would surely have been impressed with the tidiness of his play as well as his great range of passing before Rossiter replaced him, none more so than on four minutes. It was his vision and lofted through ball that released Barrie McKay on the left flank, forcing full-back Ross Barbour into hacking him down in the box. Martyn Waghorn’s spot kick squeaked under Cameron Belford and in.
Twelve minutes later Waghorn would get his second of the night, this time latching on to a horrendous back pass from the halfway line by Mark McGuigan, turning Barbour inside out as the last man before scudding a shot off his leg and into the net.
There were plenty of opportunities for the former Wigan Athletic man to grab a hat-trick and on another day he may have got a shot away just after half-time if it wasn’t for the eagerness of Kranjcar to steal the ball off his toe at the edge of the area and drill in a deserved third.
Barton will surely get the chance to reacquaint himself with his old team-mates this weekend when Premier League newcomers present a final run out for Rangers that, in truth, they probably don't need. There will be little to nothing Warburton has left to discover about the players that, up to this point, have executed his plan this season to the letter.
On the evidence of this win, it would be foolish to expect anything less on Saturday.
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