Manager Mark Warburton has been speaking about the challenge that he believes Red Bull Leipzig will provide Rangers this weekend.
One of the Red Bull brand of clubs, clearly they receive a mixed welcome with some impressed with their rise through the German tiers from the fifth into the Bundesliga and others pointing to them flexing their financial strength in order to achieve that, but Warburton is only concerned about what Rangers can take from the friendly game when we face them on Sunday.
With the game taking place at the Red Bull Arena and kicking off at 3.30pm, Warburton told the Official Site that he was expecting a tough test but that’s exactly what he wanted ahead of the return to our season.
‘We know it will be a very tough test against a team riding high in the Bundesliga and we wanted that quality of test to prepare for the second half of the season. They are a tremendous outfit and we`ve watched their progress, but we want that type of challenge. There are different schools of thought. People talk about going and playing a lower ranked team, winning comfortably and boosting morale and self-belief etc. I think we have to be tested. We certainly had a good test with Celtic for sure and to follow it up with this type of game as well puts the boys in the right frame of mind for the important fixture to come straight after.’
Adding.
‘It`s a different test. How Leipzig press will be a different challenge for us, the quality of their ball possession, ball circulation will be a different test for us. So again we have to look forward to it, we have to learn from it, prepare well for it and recognise the quality of challenge. But as I say it`s all about preparing ourselves for the vitally important second half of the season.’
Questioned more about their rise through the levels of the German system with their owners wanting them to become one of Europe’s top clubs, Warburton went on to say.
‘It`s a tremendous rise. I read a lot about German football, I read about some of the ill-feeling towards the financially-driven side of it, but that`s the world we live in. Look at the Chinese Super League and leagues around the world and football associations; that`s how the game works and that`s how industry works. For me they have done a tremendous job to rise so quickly and to be there challenging a team of the stature of Bayern Munich speaks volumes.’
