PLAYING for Rangers at Ibrox, even in a cup tie against a part-time club from the lower leagues, was the realisation of a long-held ambition for Andy Halliday.
He grew up in the shadow of the Govan stadium and dreamt of one day taking to the field there for the club he idolised as he was kicking a ball about the streets as a kid.
The 23-year-old finally achieved his lifelong goal when he started in the League Cup first round match against Peterhead on Sunday afternoon.
It says much, then, about the standards which new manager Mark Warburton has set that he was not entirely satisfied following his involvement in a 3-0 victory.
"It was a memorable day for myself and for all of the new boys,” said Halliday. “The fans were different class. I'll never take playing here for granted.
“I hope the fans buy into it what we are trying to do. We have new players, new coaching staff and a new football philosophy. It's a complete overhaul from last season. Everyone has taken to it well.
"As a football player you are your happiest when the ball is at your feet. We are trying to play that kind of football with passing and quick counter-attacks. It's been really enjoyable. The training and intensity of it has been different class.
“It's just a really exciting period. We want to get back to where we should be. It's a fresh environment this year and I am just happy to be a part of it.
“The quality in training has got better and better and we are replicating that in games. The only negative is the chances we have failed to put away. When we start the league, we need to take our chances.”
Halliday added: "I suppose the main thing is that we are creating the chances so that is a plus. The gaffer and Davie Weir have got us doing crossing and finishing every day in training and we were thankful to repay that with six goals last week.
“I suppose it is credit to us that we are not really happy with just the three goals, but we will go back and practice again and next week is another week. Every day we will be passing, crossing and finishing and hopefully we will be more clinical."
Warburton was concerned at the quality of a training session at Murray Park on Friday dropping below the required level as Rangers prepared for the meeting with Peterhead two days later.
So it should be no surprise that the Englishman was refusing, despite the slickness of much of his side’s attacking play and the solidity of their defence, in the aftermath of a 3-0 win in his first competitive match at Ibrox.
“It was just a typical training exercise with small-sided games,” said Halliday. “But even though it was a day or so before the game, that was no excuse to drop standards. So credit to the manager for sensing that.
“There were too many goals being conceded by both teams at both ends so he stopped the game. In the three games after that I don't think any team conceded more than one. So he brought that point up and we rectified it. He's quite right because we can't drop intensity at any time if we are to match the level we aim to be at.
"It’s an indication of his standards and the standards we should set ourselves. We want to be the best we can be and we have set ourselves high goals this year. One bad day in training is not good enough - we have to be the best we can."
Halliday has played for Middlesbrough, Walsall, Blackpool and Bradford during the last few years, but has still managed to attend several Rangers games as a supporter. He shared the concerns and frustrations of his fellow fans during those difficult seasons when unrest off the pitch contributed towards some poor displays on it.
Despite his excitement at being involved with the Ibrox club and his positivity about the methods of their new manager, he declined to speculate on what can be achieved in the coming season and beyond as he prepared for the opening Ladbrokes Premiership game of the 2015/16 season against St. Mirren on Friday.
"It's hard to say,” he said. “There have been a few low points with the boys in the past couple of years. All I can say is that I am playing with some of those boys and they have been different class every day. They have bought into it and they have been stand-outs. It's a squad game and we will need everyone.
"It's a fresh exciting period and the way the gaffer is training and wants us to play we are all just buying into it and reaping the benefits."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel