Mark Warburton is big Ibrox attraction

ian1964 · April 19, 2016

RANGERS will sell out Ibrox next season with over 40,000 season ticket holders.

And it will all be down to one man — Mark Warburton.

I’ll be amazed next season if the club doesn’t pack the place out every other week back in the top flight.

That’s because Warburton’s outstanding impact in less than a year in charge has got the supporters believing again, got them loving the brand of football that Celtic badly struggled to deal with at Hampden.

You can’t give him enough credit for the job he’s done; they’ve romped an extremely competitive Championship, won the Petrofac Cup in style and were tremendous in taking care of Celtic to reach the Scottish Cup Final.

Rangers take a lot of risks in the way they play and every now and again they’re caught out. But they are bold and imaginative and very attractive to watch.

I admire Warburton’s philosophy and you can’t undervalue what he has done at the club in a short time.

To borrow his phrase, if I may, Rangers have been respectful to every other team in the Championship and Warburton’s really impressed me with how he’s conducted himself.

He comes across as a genuine guy, very courteous. He’ll have a tough streak about him that every manager needs. But you can tell players love playing for him, they trust him.

I thought the way he set his team out against Celtic took an awful lot of courage. But he got his reward.

I was delighted with the quality of the derby. It was a brilliant game, absolutely epic, and I think it reflected very well on our game.

As a footballing spectacle beamed across millions of homes throughout Britain and far beyond it must’ve been absolutely enthralling for viewers.

There’s been too many negative messages from down south about Scottish football — but I think Sunday’s classic was a shot in the arm for our game, I really do.

It showed people we do play good football, that we’re not just hammer throwers and it’s only about getting stuck in, that the Old Firm isn’t solely about face-to-face confrontation.

It was a complete footballing spectacle. Yes, there were tough tackles — but not enough to have us talking about that and not the quality of play.

After the game everyone was talking the calibre of football from a positive point of view and that was a rarity for an Old Firm showdown.

I was delighted about that and all credit to both teams for the way they approached it, the way they played it and the discipline they showed.

Now, for the first time in over 80- odd years, we have a final involving two teams from outwith the top flight — and that speaks volumes for the league I operate in with Morton.

The Championship has been a tremendous division and the fact Rangers won the title so convincingly says it all about how good they are.

I’m certainly proud of the fact my team gave them a few difficult games, including a draw at Ibrox.

Warburton’s been kind enough to give us a bit of credit over the season for our performances and everyone at Cappielow has appreciated that.

But Falkirk, Hibs, Raith Rovers — even Alloa who have already been relegated — have provided the champions with tough matches throughout a hugely entertaining campaign.

Who can forget Falkirk’s remarkable victory over Rangers after being two goals behind?

To be fair, every team has pushed Rangers at some point. The Championship has been an excellent advert for Scottish football, with Hibs also reaching the League Cup Final.

They’ve got a lot of games to play between now and the final on May 21, while Rangers will finish the league at the end of this month and face a three-week lay-off which, I think, is too long.

It could be a great final — and I certainly think Hibs are capable of finally ending their long, long wait to lift the Scottish Cup.

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/columnists/jimduffy/7088877/Mark-Warburton-is-big-Ibrox-attraction.html