Studying rivals was not part of Rangers’ game plan, admits Senderos

IT was little more than a throwaway remark from Philippe Senderos, but therein perhaps lay the very problem.

As the Swiss defender took his seat at Rangers’ Auchenhowie training centre on Friday afternoon, no one could have imagined the merry hell that was about to break out at the club that evening.

Certainly not Senderos, who conducted a routine preview interview for today’s Scottish Cup tie against Morton and casually admitted the squad had done no preparatory work on the merits and tactics of the Championship side.

Not only that, he insisted it was perfectly normal for Mark Warburton’s staff to overlook the opposition in favour of concentrating on their own team’s game plan.

‘We don’t really look at the opposition that much,’ he said. ‘We concentrate on ourselves because we know if we do what we are capable of, we beat most of the teams in this league.

‘The cup is the same. We have more quality than most teams.’

When trying to make sense of Warburton’s sudden and messy departure from the club on Friday night, a shortfall in match preparation might seem a peripheral issue. However, as so many coaches are wont to tell us, it is the details that matter.

Given that Rangers have dropped points in half of their 24 Premiership matches this term, there is a legitimate argument to be made that a bit more research on the opposition might have helped bridge part of the 27-point gap to runaway leaders Celtic.

Comparisons across Glasgow’s football divide irked Warburton — unless he happened to be making them himself. Although often invidious, the drawing of such parallels is occasionally instructive.

Before facing Albion Rovers in the last round of the cup, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers revealed that he had accorded the League One side the same level of respect afforded to his club’s Champions League opponents by compiling a tactical briefing to share with his players.

If Rodgers could be so diligent in preparing for part-time opposition, Rangers fans might wonder why their manager was not applying the same standards at Premiership level.

With Rodgers in the groove and Celtic flexing their superior financial muscle, Rangers were never going to challenge for the title this season, a point that was made brutally clear in the first Old Firm game of the season when Senderos made his debut.

Pitched into the Glasgow derby just days after signing as a free agent, the Swiss was run ragged and then red-carded as Moussa Dembele scored a hattrick in a 5-1 win for Celtic.

A veteran of big games involving Arsenal, AC Milan and Valencia, Senderos does not ask for any sympathy for what happened to him at Parkhead.

With Senderos pitched into a shaky partnership with Rob Kiernan, Warburton’s signings were exposed as being neither quick nor sharp enough to cope with Celtic.

The gulf raised questions over the signing practises of Warburton and head of recruitment Frank McParland but Senderos makes no excuses for his own performance.

‘I knew what to expect from that game,’ he stated. ‘I’ve played in big games before. London and Liverpool derbies, the Milan derby. If I wasn’t fit, I wouldn’t have played.’

Warburton picked Senderos just once more in 2016, for a league game against Partick Thistle, before placing him in cold storage until last weekend. He offers no argument against his exclusion.

‘We lost 5-1, so there is not much unfair about that,’ he reflected. ‘It was difficult but I had to wait for my chance. I’ve been training hard and I hope I can now get a run of games.’

Amidst the Ibrox turmoil, development coach Graeme Murty will take charge of today’s game and there’s a good chance Senderos will play.

With the league out of reach, a Scottish Cup victory might go some way towards placating a restless and agitated support.