Mark’s boys picking up good hydration habit
MARK WARBURTON’S meticulous Rangers methods preclude players from taking part in training if they fail their daily urine test.
Hydration issues are as strict as time-keeping every morning at Murray Park where the Rangers manager insists on his staff being in prime shape for the job.
‘If a player doesn’t hit the levels in urine testing, he has one hour to rehydrate or he doesn’t train,’ stated Warburton. ‘If he doesn’t train, then he’s fined.
‘If he doesn’t train, there’s a good chance he won’t play on Saturday. Their urine is tested every morning because hydration is a massive part of what we do.
‘The first thing you should do as a pro footballer when you get out of bed is drink a bottle of water. The second thing is in the car — have a drink on the way to training.
‘Hydration is important in terms of injury and muscle flexibility. It’s a simple one. You can control that. You can’t control the referee. You can’t control a pitch. You can control certain things.
‘If you come in dehydrated, no excuses. They’re measured every morning. Everyone has been below the level. One or two have been near the top end and they’re drinking to get back well below.
‘The group have been fantastic. They’re policing it. We have to maintain the highest levels of discipline and standards of behaviour.
‘If we don’t, we’re weak as a group. The image of the football department must be first class. If any player or staff member steps out of line, they won’t be part of what we’re doing.
‘It’s not an idle threat. I’m sure if I stepped out of line, I’d be gone. At any club, especially one of this size and stature, we’ve got a responsibility.’
Warburton has been trusted to keep standards high within that regime for a trio of English top-flight academy prospects: Gedion Zelalem from Arsenal and Spurs pair Dominic Ball and Nathan Oduwa.
He hopes their impact will extend well beyond this Championship title bid and inspire young Rangers prospects.
Warburton said: ‘It’s great because you’re saying: “There’s the standard. That’s what we can get. These are guys coming out of top Premier League academies — you’ve got to be better than that”.’