Squad Is Working Hard

[BrahimHemdani 1]

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6052-squad-is-working-hard

 

JIM HENRY has praised Rangers’ players for reaching the high standards he wants them to be at and says they have been doing that all season long.

 

The Light Blues’ work pattern has attracted criticism from some quarters as certain parties have claimed they should be doing more at Murray Park in between games.

 

But head of sports science Henry refutes such suggestions, insisting Ally McCoist’s squad follows a schedule in line with those at other clubs he has been with previously.

 

The work Gers have done since regrouping of the start of their pre-season programme last June has led to 26 wins from 28 competitive games so far in 2013/14.

 

With only two points dropped in 21 League One fixtures, the team is 20 points clear of nearest challengers Dunfermline with 15 matches still to go.

 

Monday’s 2-0 victory at Forfar was also the 25th away league outing in a row Rangers had been unbeaten and that run goes all the way back to October 2012.

 

Henry has mapped out how a typical day at Auchenhowie will pan out and maintains the players are conducting themselves properly and professionally.

 

He said: “A lot of the boys will come in and do their own individual stuff first. There are lads here who have specific programmes with the physio they need to stick to.

 

“They will start around 9.30am doing their own thing and we then take the whole group in at around 10.15am.

 

“They do a lot of pro perception work, balance work and exercises which are designed to prevent injuries.

 

“That’s a group session and it’s only after that that they go out to do their football training on the park.

 

“We are always analysing the football sessions so that we know if they need to be made harder or indeed easier.

 

“I’ve got to say the output in terms of work we have been getting from the players has been high.

 

“The players will then come in and a lot of them will then go into the pool and do recovery work before they eat.

 

“There has to be rest factored in and recovery is part of the training process because we need the players to be at their best at the right times.

 

“Some clubs might have their players in every single day of the week but a lot of those days will be filled with recovery work and rest.

 

“They’ll definitely not train every day the way some people expect they will. Instead, they’ll do injury prevention programmes or they’ll recover in the pool.

 

“What we are doing is a work in progress. We always want to improve and we are always striving to do that.

 

“We know when the boys come off the training pitch what needs to be worked on and that’s something we are focused on.

 

“We’re trying to make the boys more powerful but it won’t come overnight. We are making progress though and we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

 

Some have complained it has often taken Rangers until the second half of games to break their opponents down in recent months.

 

But Henry feels respect should be paid to opponents in such instances and stresses that just because many other players are part-time, it doesn’t mean they aren’t fit.

 

Gers have usually been stronger in the long run because it’s in the latter stages of games that their higher overall levels have shone through.

 

Henry believes the right amount of effort is going into training and games from the players and has the statistics which prove it.

 

He added: “All I can do is judge training on a day-to-day basis. We have GPS units and we look at the distance covered by the players and the loading they do. It’s all very high.

 

“They are covering 140 to 160 metres a minute in their training programmes so they are working hard enough.

 

“Looking at the stats we are seeing, they’ve not dropped all the way through and that’s a good thing.

 

“The players are putting the effort into the gymnasium work we are doing and we have good professionals at the club.

 

“Some people look at our games and think we should be running over the teams we play but that’s not the case.

 

“The players we come up against in other teams are still fit lads as well, regardless of whether they train full-time or part-time, and it’s not as straightforward as just overpowering them.

 

“Sometimes it takes time to grind teams down and for our overall superior fitness levels to show through.”

 

This appears to be a direct response to the leaked training schedule and comments on here (and perhaps elsewhere, I don't read any other forums); and if so shows the power of internet comment.

 

McCulloch also makes the point http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6057-gap-isnt-so-big

 

McCulloch feels the pre-season Rangers went through last summer was one of the toughest he has experienced in his career.

 

And he says the squad continues to work hard now to maintain the level of fitness achieved back then before the campaign began.

 

The 35-year-old acknowledges Gers have struggled at times to kill off their opponents despite going on to win 20 of their 21 league fixtures so far.

 

In a third of those games, the Light Blues have either been drawing or behind at the midway point but have then gone on to triumph each time.

 

McCulloch feels that’s because other sides are giving everything they’ve got initially and it seems the Ibrox team’s superior fitness then shines through in the latter stages.

 

He added: “We had a pretty tough pre-season and it lasted about six weeks. Big Jim Henry was pretty rigorous with us but he’s fair.

 

“It’s hard work and at the moment we’re still working hard too, albeit we’ve got to get our recovery in as well.

 

“We’re working pretty hard and that’s telling in games now, although teams we played against treat playing us like it’s a cup final.

 

“That’s especially the case in away games. A lot of the boys are playing on adrenalin and that’s why the first halves are as hard.

 

“The amount of times we’ve come in drawing at half-time then gone on to win in the second half has been quite high.

 

“A lot of our opponents are playing at a really high tempo and you can say they’re only part-time but it’s amazing what adrenalin can do to you. They make it hard for us.”

 

However, I still don't see anything about when we discuss or plan tactics on the training field or view video of past games or discuss future opponents".

[Super Cooper 0]

Somewhat patronising, we can all see certain players are not giving 100% and we have yet to see any fruits of our technical training drills.

[SteveC 150]

The bit about the pre-season rings true. jig said that back at the time, before the recent "leak/fake leak". I also wrote here that I had heard from one of the players after it got going and it was really demanding, much more so than the year before, the "morning after" was sore due to bodily exercise; not a post "boozegate" head, but post hard training legs....and this was not from a slacker but from someone hard-working by nature

 

Though I confess I see no evidence of it in the first team and, into the bargain, absolutely no evidence whatsoever of anyone working on technique, throw-ins, passing or crossing.............and hardly at all on free kicks and corners (the odd routine apart, very much the exceptions which prove the rules)

[Darthter 542]

The team need to work harder on their general movement & support of their team mates.....

[BrahimHemdani 1]

When was the last time anyone can remember Rangers trying a move from a free kick?

[compo 7,030]

rangers players should always work hard off and on the park .

[Super Cooper 0]

When was the last time anyone can remember Rangers trying a move from a free kick?

 

Or even hitting target from a dead ball. It's so so frustrating and disappointing. Very amateurish in fact.

[Zappa 0]

When was the last time anyone can remember Rangers trying a move from a free kick?

 

Or even hitting target from a dead ball. It's so so frustrating and disappointing. Very amateurish in fact.

 

When we have direct free kicks within range we need to be taking them direct more often instead of this two touches nonsense before striking the ball which we've been doing repeatedly. As seen quite clearly in the image below from the Forfar game, it simply doesn't work, so it's mind-numbingly stupid to keep doing it.

 

Lee McCulloch's free-kick is charged down by Omar Kader (Willie Vass)

Copyright: 2014 Willie Vass

[andy steel 0]

Hang on - that's the free kick which crashed off the bar!

 

And tbf, Fraser Aird's corner taking has come on from (in FM terms) virtually red to almost dark blue.

[Frankie 8,562]

I think our set-pieces have been a fair bit better this season - certainly Aird's corners are more consistent and some of Black's free kicks have been good.

 

There is still a certain lack of imagination in our free kicks but they definitely work on them as you see certain hand signals and communications being made ahead of them. One of their favourites seems to be the disguised cut back to Wallace who is freed up by fake runs from the big men; as well as the long ball to the back post which Daly and McCulloch often meet with reasonable effect.

 

As for fitness, I'd say we're also fitter this season and many players look quicker such as Macleod, Wallace and Faure to name just a few.