I’m flattered by interest but my focus is here...
THE international break enabled Mark Warburton to board a plane for London and see his family for the first time in four weeks.
‘There was a hotel guest book at the door,’ he quipped. ‘I got some home cooking and put a couple of kilos back on again.’
Warburton admits the gap between these visits are the hardest aspect of being Rangers manager, a job in which he has become immersed.
There are those in his social circle who would question why he does it. Especially when recent speculation about interest from Queens Park Rangers and Fulham could have potentially brought him back within the M25 orbit — and far closer to his wife and children.
Instead, Warburton is 350 miles further north. At a club fighting for promotion to the Scottish Premiership. And one still confronted by what must seem like a bewildering array of off-field issues to anyone not resident here for the past three years.
When any doubts about his career decision are expressed, however, Warburton simply offers an invite to Ibrox as a powerful counter-argument.
‘Some people do ask what I am doing here, especially the younger ones who don’t know about the history of Rangers,’ said Warburton, back in the surroundings of Murray Park where he spends most of his waking hours.
‘But if you ask some of our younger boys here they won’t know who Diego Maradona is! They are 18 and don’t have a handle on that stuff. They weren’t alive at the time of the ‘Hand of God’. And you can forget Johan Cruyff. They know about the Cruyff turn, but not him.
‘That’s the world we live in. Some people don’t know about Rangers’ history, about 50-odd titles and the great European nights. That’s all new to them.
‘But we had a couple of guys from Brentford come up and they were blown away by the home game against Hibs. They couldn’t believe the support. There were 50,000 fans and there was a great atmosphere and build-up to the game. That is the only way to get it across to them.
‘Listen, it is flattering to be linked with jobs because it is not everyone who gets that. I can’t deny that it’s nice compliment.
‘But the focus is here with Rangers. This is a massive club and we are six months into the project. You can’t ask players to commit and then don’t commit yourself.
‘In football and in any business, you live and die by your decisions. It’s as simple as that. If you make the right decision, great, if you make a bad one then you pay the price. I made the choice to come to a fantastic club.
‘All I can say is look at Rangers’ history and come to a home game. That’s what I say to my friends, come to Murray Park and then tell me what you think.’
Gaining knowledge of the club’s past achievements is something Warburton has impressed upon the players who followed him from England this season.
‘I do think that’s important,’ he added. ‘The likes of Andy Halliday know it inside out. They are true Rangers fans.
‘It is the likes of Wes Foderingham, Rob Kiernan, James Tavernier, Martyn Waghorn. For these type of guys it is about appreciating the size of the club, appreciating the history and recognising that responsibility they have got to the fans.
‘We use that all the time. We say: “You have got a real responsibility. Enjoy it, but you have got to recognise it”.’
Kenny Miller is one member of the squad very keenly acquainted with that responsibility. The 35-year-old this week signed a contract extension which will see his third spell at Rangers carry on into next season.
Warburton again extolled the example Miller sets at the club, something that has even been valuable to the clutch of loanees from the English Premiership.
‘We have a close relationship with Spurs and Arsenal,’ said Warburton. ‘And the feedback from the likes of Nathan Oduwa is that the one they’ve learned the most from in training is Kenny Miller.
‘The way he applies himself in training every day is intense and that’s the lesson. You see one or two ease themselves into sessions, but not Kenny, Lee Wallace, Dean Shiels. That’s a lesson.
‘We’re really young. Our average age has gone from 29 to below 23; Jordan Thompson and Gedion Zelalem 18, Fraser Aird, Nathan, Tom Walsh all 19, Barrie McKay 20.
‘They’re a young squad, so you need seniority and experience and it comes from the likes of Kenny, Dean and Lee.’
While Miller has been handed an extension, Shiels, Nicky Law, David Templeton and Nicky Clark are among the players whose existing contracts expire next summer. Warburton will take time before deciding their futures.
‘In Kenny’s case, I watch his impact on training and matches, his mentoring role, his input on analysis sessions, and Davie Weir and I thought the time was right.
‘In the case of Dean, who is working tirelessly every day, we’ll open conversations as and when we think it is the right time. They know it’s a harsh game and they have to earn those contracts.’
Warburton watched Hibs defeat Livingston 2-1 on Tuesday evening to move within two points of the Ibrox club at the top of the Championship, albeit having played a game more.
Mark Burchill’s outfit now host Rangers tomorrow in the first meeting between the clubs since the row created by Kieran Gibbons’ challenge on Oduwa.
‘Nathan is looking forward to the game — if he’s picked,’ said Warburton. ‘He learned from the first game — it has been well documented, it was a shocking tackle but it is now history.’