Walter’s word was law for us, says Mark

FBruno Alves, Dalcio and Ryan Jack to name a few. According to Hateley, this is an imperative step to give Caixinha a fighting chance to improve on last season’s efforts, but only if the players he brings in are mentally up to the job.

“You need the right ones in now from day one at training,” he said.

“Bruno Alves obviously is away at the Confederations Cup but he’ll come back fit because he is training every day. Whether he plays or not that’s another thing.

“He’s ticking over. He has the experience of 35 years of life, shall we say. Pedro will want as many as he could from the first day of training.

“Whether they will be a success or not it will be a matter of time before we know. Great players have come in, world stars, and fallen. It’s just how they take it; how they get their head around playing for Rangers. It’s hard to play in a team that has to win every game.”

He added: “He would want to bring his own players in – that was a given. So he was going to do that sooner or later. The fact that everybody is back early for the European situation that was a given, so he was going to have to do his work earlier. He goes on about the hard work, but that’s a given as well. Players train, get fit and play.

“My hardest pre-season ever was at Rangers and then all we used to do was play: Saturday/Tuesday/ Saturday/Tuesday. We were playing 60-odd games a season. Fitness is a given.

“My son Tom was in Poland and they train there three times a day up till October. That is why Polish teams are superfit; international teams are superfit. It’s a given.

“Just because you only train once or twice, maybe, everybody moans if it is twice regularly, or three times. You’re a professional athlete so you train, and train hard.” Hateley heeded Smith’s words