FLICKS TRIP TURNED IN TO SHOCKER
Marv rolls back years and heaps praise on Fernando and Ibrox boss Caixinha
LIAM BURT nearly choked on his popcorn when he discovered Mark Warburton had left Rangers.
But now the youngster is eager to give Ibrox successor Pedro Caixinha food for thought by impressing the Portuguese coach.
The 18-year-old was in the cinema when he heard of Warburton’s shock exit last month.
Burt was stunned as the Englishman had handed him his Rangers debut in March 2016.
Clearly the teenager had caught the eye of Warburton because while Burt trained with the first team every day his former boss regularly tipped him as a future star.
But following Caixinha’s arrival the Scotland U19 playmaker knows it’s a clean slate for everyone. Instead of being upset Warburton has gone he’s excited at the prospect of forcing his way into the new boss’s plans.
Burt is in the Czech Republic for the Euro Elite qualifiers and should start against Hungary today in what is now a dead rubber for Ricky Sbragia’s squad.
He revealed his surprise at Warburton’s messy Ibrox departure but is adamant he can now show Caixinha what he’s all about.
Burt said: “I had trained as normal on that Friday then later on I was going to the cinema to see the new Trainspotting film.
“When I was there I got a message through saying the manager had gone. I was as shocked as anyone.
“I thought it was a joke until I checked it out. My head was all over the place – although I still managed to enjoy the film!
“I’ll always be grateful to Mark for giving me my debut. It was a really proud moment. I have always had belief in my ability to do well at the club.
“Now I’m training with the new gaffer and it’s been really good so far. He’s brought in some new ideas and already you can see all the boys have bought into it.
“Hopefully we can push on. I’ve not had a chance to speak to the manager individually yet but I’m sure that will come.
“I won’t get disheartened if new players come in, that’s just football. I hope there’s a pathway for me at Rangers and I think there is.
“The new manager has come in and it’ll be a clean slate for everyone. Hopefully I can do something in training or an U20s game that will catch his eye.
“He won’t care how old you are or what your back story is. So I just need to take my chance if it comes.”
Burt has still to develop physically but feels training with an experienced Rangers squad will only help him.
He said: “Playing against bigger, stronger players makes you think quicker and move the ball that second earlier.
“The senior players have all been great with me. They tell me when I have done something well, or if I have done something wrong. The training has probably been a bit more attack-orientated with the new manager.
“The training is sharp. Some of the drills take a bit of getting used to but that’s only because we are new to them. It’ll take a bit of time but I’m sure they’ll become habit in just a few weeks.” MARVIN ANDREWS rolled back the years at the weekend with one of his trademark bullet headers in Fernando Ricksen’s charity game.
But the Ibrox icon is just delighted his old club appear to have rediscovered their fighting spirit in the early days under new Rangers boss Pedro Caixhina.
Andrews couldn’t believe the lack of heart shown in the final few weeks under Mark Warburton which eventually resulted in the Englishman’s Ibrox departure.
The 41-year-old can accept the Light Blues losing but not in the manner they did under Warburton at times this season before he left Glasgow and pitched up at Nottingham Forest.
Caixinha has a reputation as a demanding tough guy and Andrews could see evidence of that when he was at Ibrox last week for the 4-0 win, albeit against a struggling Hamilton Accies, as the Portuguese gaffer made his debut in the dugout.
Andrews was a player who made the most of his ability and strength of character took him that extra level, but he reckons the battling attitude needed to play for Rangers was summed up in his day by former skipper Ricksen.
The Dutchman continues to show battling qualities as he faces his biggest fight yet against an aggressive form of motor neurone disease and Andrews was one of a number of former players to turn out to help raise funds for his foundation.
Trinidadian Andrews netted the opener for a Rangers legends side in front of a crowd of almost 5000 at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium in a 3-2 defeat to an England Select.
The former defender, who was a cult hero during two years at Ibrox, said: “My first impressions of Caixinha were very good. You could tell from the tempo and the way they won the ball back that there was a real determination.
“When you represent Rangers the one thing you always look for is heart, fight and determination. Yes, you can lose a football game, that is not a problem but it’s how you lose.
“Fernando summed that up as a player. He had that character in abundance. It doesn’t matter how skilful or talented you are, without heart you won’t make it.
“The five games before the new manager came in there was a lack of heart and urgency. It was like they didn’t really want to play. That is not acceptable at Rangers. You will lose the odd game but it’s how you lose. When I played at Rangers you had to lose fighting.
“The manager has to instil that. It was a completely different team against Hamilton. Fighting and scrapping for everything when they lost the ball and I can only speak from the outside.
“I don’t know the communication between the manager and players so I can’t comment on that but it showed. I know Hamilton haven’t shown much recently but it was a very good performance.
“You can already tell the manager wants them to play at a high tempo, win the ball back and keep going at teams. I hope that continues because that was the most pleasing aspect for me.
“You expect a reaction when a new manager and staff come in and hopefully they go into the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic with confidence.”
Andrews picked up the man of the match award with the presentation made by family members of Ryan Baird, who died in the Nith Valley supporters bus crash, on an emotional afternoon in Lancashire.
The fans who made the journey were treated to a decent spectacle
GAVIN BERRY