Mark Warburton: Fans knew Gers were on the way back the day we dumped Dundee

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DUNDEE were gone in 60 seconds.

 

But Mark Warburton didn’t need Rangers’ thumping victory over Dundee to tell him his side were a Premiership side in the making.

 

The Ibrox club’s critics may have sat up and taken notice.

 

Scoring inside less than a minute, Rangers ended up taking four off the Dens Park side.

 

Few expected Warburton’s side to be as impressive as they were that day in March given they’d been dismantled by St Johnstone earlier in the campaign.

 

But as much as Warburton loved the performance against Paul Hartley’s dark blues it proved NOTHING to him that he didn’t already know.

 

The Gers gaffer said: “We got a lot of abuse after the St Johnstone game when people talked about the gap between the Championship and the Premiership.

 

“But I didn’t see it as questions to be answered.

 

“We were playing well at that time, we were top of the league, and we were in good shape.

 

“That day against Dundee we gave a good performance. The crowd enjoyed it and the players enjoyed it.

 

“But it was just one game and we had to move on from there.

 

“We had a good performance against Celtic but we lost the cup final so we need to look at the bad points and learn from that as well.

 

“But that day against Dundee we scored after 20 seconds.

 

“From their perspective, the game plan changed but I thought we were good that day.

 

“We created a lot of chances. I don’t think 4-0 flattered us and Paul said that after the game.

 

“We are well aware that they have gone to Ross County and got a good result in the first game of the season.

 

“They will be in a confident mood and they have got quality players.

 

“All I am being told is how tough a place it is to go to. I have never been there. We are in good shape and we are looking forward to the game.

 

“There is no doubt Saturday will be a tough test. We are in good form, good shape, the players are fit and the squad is strong.”

 

Warburton has never been to Dens Park before but he knows enough about Dundee to know Birmingham City have got themselves a bargain with the purchase of Greg Stewart for just £500,000.

 

The striker’s move to England comes at a bad time for Paul Hartley who would have loved to have had him in his line-up today.

 

But Warburton reckons the deal proves there IS top talent north of the border.

 

He added: “I’m never going to talk about another Scottish team.

 

“But as I read it a bid was accepted and if that’s right, you’ve got to look at it value wise and say surely that’s cheap.

 

“Surely that’s cheap with what’s being paid down south.

 

“I’m just looking at the fees they are paying down there, that’s my indicator.

 

“If it gets to the point where it’s too expensive for certain clubs and where they find value.

 

“I’m watching League One clubs bid £1.5million for players, Championship players going for eight, nine, ten million.

 

“I grew up as a young football fan watching all the top Scottish players down south. Top quality Scottish players and now I am being told there are no players in Scotland. I find that incredible.

 

“There has got to be talent up here.”

 

Warburton’s worry is that Scotland’s kids aren’t being given the best chance to reach the top.

 

He added: “Young players at clubs in England have been all over the world to Australia, the Dallas Cup, Vietnam, Singapore, they have had top challenges.

 

“Have our Academy boys been given the same challenge?

 

“Your next thing will be ‘we haven’t got the money’. But we have got to find a way of doing it and challenging the players.

 

“We have got to use the Rangers badge, the Celtic badge, Aberdeen’s badge, these are famous brands, to get access to tournaments that challenge the players.

 

“I was taking Watford to tournaments in 2007 with Real Madrid, Barca, Ajax. Why aren’t we doing it here?

 

“Our youth team got entry to a tournament in South Africa and were playing the likes of Arsenal, Fluminese and the South African national team. That is what you need, those type of challenges.

 

“How do the boys travel? How do they deal with hotel food? How do they handle different pitches?

 

“All these things. At some stage, that will be European football with the first team.”

 

Rangers kid Jordan Rossiter is one Warburton has big hopes for with the England Under-19s skipper impressing so far this season.

 

He added: “He is one of the squad that I would have no hesitation using.

 

“He might start Saturday, he might not, but you saw on Tuesday, whether we play Joey, Andy, Jordan or Matt Crooks when he is fit, it doesn’t bother us.

 

“You have got to trust the squad.

 

“We made six or seven changes and delivered a performance, which was pleasing for us.”

 

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