THERE’S a printed notice pinned on the door of the Rangers team room at Murray Park these days. It’s a weekly schedule, a timetable for when players should report for training, when they have their lunch, arrangements for team meetings and such like. It also states that any player who is injured must report for duty before 9am each day. It’s all laid out for them. Be here at this time, be there at that time. A small thing, maybe, but significant nonetheless. This notice was not there last season. It’s a just a small sign, literally, that the level of professionalism has been ratcheted up several notches since Mark Warburton and Davie Weir moved in, and in the two public outings Rangers have had so far, there are reasons to believe that the players are responding. The batch of new guys who arrived in the summer have gelled quickly and effectively, that much is obvious. Andy Halliday looks so at home you’d be forgiven for thinking he was brought up on the doorstep and was never away from the place as a kid... James Tavernier, Rob Kiernan and Martyn Waghorn all played together at Wigan and there is a togetherness there that has made settling into a new environment much easier. But the only real comparison with last season can be made by looking at the players who were at Rangers before Warburton arrived there. On Saturday at Easter Road the only two regulars from last season who started were Lee Wallace and Nicky Law. Wallace’s level dropped last season and he carried himself with a demeanour that suggested he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He’s a decent big guy, a deep thinker and gives plenty back to the game in the shape of running his own amateur team in Edinburgh, which is not something many highly-paid professionals can lay claim to. But the full-back gave the impression last term that he had been worn down by the years of neglect the club had suffered at the hands of the chancers who were pulling the strings from the top of the marble staircase. Martyn Waghorn wheels away to celebrates his sides second goal during the Petrofac Training Cup First Round at Easter Road Now? He was bombing up and down the left flank as if someone had inserted new Duracell Extra Life in his boots, linking with David Templeton – an outcast last season but who has been given a chance to prove he has what it takes – and setting up chances galore. If Wallace looks rejuvenated, Law looks like a new signing. The midfielder had a terrible time of it last season, shot of confidence, he became a target of criticism from the stands. Put it this way, if Law’s contract had been up in the summer, he would have been out the door with the 11 who did leave. This time round? Sharp, eager, prompting, probing. The Nicky Law that played well enough for Motherwell to earn the move to Ibrox. Why? What’s prompted the turnaround? Maybe it’s as simple as players need structure and a sense of organisation. We all need it at our work. If you can wander in when you like, shuffle the paper around your desk for few hours then head off home, you are hardly going to be productive. So why should a footballer be any different? Warburton and Weir have hit the ground running and have benefited from having a clean slate to work with. Enforcing a stricter regime might have encountered resistance within a dressing room populated with players used to working another way, so it has been to the new management’s advantage that the clearout has created space to bring in virtually a new team. I’d expect another three or four arrivals before the transfer window shuts. John Eustace will likely be given a one-year deal and it remains to be seen whether Scott Allan will also be added to the midfield. Hibs’ determination to keep him is understandable. And if the lad plays with the desire he showed when he came on against Rangers at the weekend, there would be no problem. But how will Allan feel if it becomes clear he WILL have to see out his contract? This will be a major test of his character and it will tell Warburton and everyone else plenty about him. If he’s still at Hibs and throws the rattle out of the pram when the window closes, downs tools and trips over his petted lip, why would Rangers want a guy like that to sign a pre-contract in January? However, if Allan channels his frustration into producing the goods for Hibs on a weekly basis then that will tell the Rangers management this is a boy who has grown into a man who can be a mainstay at Ibrox for years to come. Things are changing at Ibrox and Murray Park. Whether Allan gets to read that sign on the team-room door may depend on his attitude if he doesn’t get his own way over the next few weeks.
This is a wild stab in the dark but did this piece of qwality churnalism appear in a certain Glasgow based tabloid?
A quality broadsheet. I was a bit saddened to see they sold The Financial Barrie to the Japanese though.
Aside from our media pish it is hugely encouraging to see Warburton moving the club in a direction that we have been shouting on about for years on here. Youth players given a chance, a passing game, no fat Monster munch guys (no offence Pud we love you, but not at our club)), pace in the team and proper coaching. Fingers crossed, but I think this will be an enjoyable season.