Manager Mark Warburton has conceded that Falkirk will prove to be a very tough opposition for us in our next game.
With the match being a first v second Championship encounter, Warburton told the Official Site that it could well be the hardest game of the league season so far for us, so he’s called on the players to be on top of their game going into the match.
‘They are our closest challengers, and they are well organised, and you respect fully where they are in the league. We will prepare well and hopefully deliver a performance. Nothing changes game on game, and it`s about us training really well as we have again today, and as we hopefully will again tomorrow. So we are prepared for another tough game at Ibrox, but we recognise the opportunity for us and it is a big game.’
With Saturday’s game being a quarter of the season gone in 2015-16, Warburton went on to say that another victory for us would make it a great start as it means we will have beaten every other side in the Championship so far, and that would obviously be a massive marker for the remainder of the season ahead.
‘It would be foolish to say anything other than that. It has been a good start by us, but the biggest enemy to us will be ourselves. Any complacency and lack of preparation will hurt us, so we have to be best prepared for every game, and we will be. The players are hungry, focussed and excited by what has happened so far, but they recognise there are some tough challenges ahead with some quality opponents and some venues in the middle of winter that will be a different challenge.’
The gaffer went on to say that ‘complacency’ is mentioned every day in training because it’s something we have to avoid like the plague if we are to achieve what we want this year.
‘We mention complacency every day. If we fall behind, we dig it out. If the results are sloppy we dig it out. If a player is late for training, they get fined accordingly. If someone is not up to the standard, they won`t be in the XI, and that`s the best weapon. The group are first class and are hungry for Saturday`s game.’
The gaffer also received a first in his latest press conference, he was asked about the often mooted ‘British League’ that comes around every couple of years.
Admitting that it certainly wasn’t a priority for him nor something that he’s going to spend more than giving his answer thinking about at the minute, Warburton did say that he felt ultimately it was probably inevitable but not for a hell of a long time yet.
‘I`m sure sooner or later, sometime in the future but maybe not the near future, I`m sure it will happen, but there are a lot of hurdles to overcome before that becomes a reality. It`s just my opinion, but what dominates down south at the moment just now is TV money. The TV money and financial climate is different down south to what it is north of the border. Therefore, I think you`re always trying to keep a product fresh, and how do you do that? I think, at some stage Team X versus Team Y won`t have the same appeal to the average man in the street, whereas Man United versus Rangers and Celtic versus Arsenal etc. is new and fresh with the massive fanbases and it`s another level of excitement.’
Warburton went on to say that the largest hurdle to overcome is how to you ‘enter’ teams into a combined league. What qualifies as top flight, or League Two or whatever they would be rebranded.
‘If you ask any football people down south, they recognise the potential of the clubs up here. There are many hurdles to overcome though – where would they go? What level would they come in at? There is talk about playing Premier League games in New York and places like that, and if that`s the case, with the global fanbases, the attraction of a Glasgow club – Rangers or Celtic – is obvious.’
Share this article
