Mark Warburton to apply financial expertise to coax the best out of his Rangers stars

[ian1964 10,613]

MARK WARBURTON believes the financial principles of the City can pay dividends for Rangers as they seek to finally return to the top echelons of Scottish football.

 

As a City trader for RBS, AIG and Bank of America he made his fortune through the incentivised system which richly rewarded hard work and tangible results.

 

Warburton is now trying to apply the same set-up to his Rangers players to coax the best possible performances as they seek to clinch the Championship title.

 

Warburton doesn’t like financial disparity among his players but he wants to heavily reward them for success. He feels it will keep his players mean and keen.

 

And that’s one of the reasons Barrie McKay’s contract was only extended by one year to 2018.

 

The Rangers boss, seeking three points in Dumfries today, said: “I want the players to be hungry. I want them to be here and to maintain standards. I want them to maintain the hunger.

 

“But they’ve also got to know you will reward them.

 

“If you go with a shorter-term deal then they’ve got to feel confident in the knowledge that you will reward them if they do well.

 

“When we were at Brentford we were calling the boys in every six months to improve their terms because they were doing well and improving themselves at a high level.

 

“They gained promotion and we rewarded them, top six in the Championship and we rewarded them, maintaining top six and we rewarded them.

 

“That type of incentive worked very well. They knew if they performed well then they would be looked after. It kept them hungry and focused and driven.

 

“That was far more beneficial than someone who has four, five years under their belt and sits there almost smoking a cigar, so to speak.”

 

Some clubs work on a sliding scale of salaries or other financial benefits, but that’s not for the 52-year-old Ibrox boss.

 

He added: “I’m not a fan when you walk into a squad and you see players on different levels. How does that work? You and I both play 90 minutes and you get one amount and I get half. I’m a big fan of players getting the same and that has to be phased in over a period of time because of existing contracts.

 

“I say keep people hungry. I understand you have to protect your asset in terms of five-year contracts, but how much is that really worth?

 

“I see players signing five-year contracts and leave six months later.

 

“Everything is a balance. Look after your asset, make him feel wanted, pay him the appropriate market rate and incentivise him.”

 

Rangers will need to cope with the loss of one of their major assets today given that Martyn Waghorn may miss the rest of the season as a result of a knee injury sustained at Rugby Park last Tuesday.

 

However, Billy King, on loan from Hearts, believes Rangers have the players to step up. King said: “We’ve got Harry Forrester, Nicky Clark, Kenny Miller and Barrie McKay, so there will still be good competition for places.

 

“The last time there I scored in a 2-1 win for Hearts, so it would be great if I could do that again.”

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/646025/Mark-Warburton-apply-financial-expertise-coax-best-out-of-Rangers-stars-News-Gossip

[Bearman 9]

Yeah but, Holt and Halliday have just signed new deals to 2020?

[Rousseau 10,017]

Contract length is generally irrelevant, but hopefully we have sufficient buy-out clauses.

[limeburner 0]

Contract length is generally irrelevant, but hopefully we have sufficient buy-out clauses.

Really? Try shipping out a dud who has three years of a contract left.

[pete 2,499]

Really? Try shipping out a dud who has three years of a contract left.

 

I remember Winston Bogarde turning up to the Chelsea training in bath slippers. He had a contract for 3 or 4 years and only played 9 games. He sat out his contract doing nothing but becoming fat and lazy.

[Rousseau 10,017]

Really? Try shipping out a dud who has three years of a contract left.

 

Good point. I was thinking about it with regards to protecting our assets: that breaks down when you don't want the asset!

 

In that sense, and Warburton's point, shorter contracts are better. Just make sure the buy-out clause is decent and there are rewards/incentives for performance and options for the club to renew.