MARK ANSWERS HIS DOUBTERS...

Halliday is thrilled by manager’s solutions

THERE are phrases which pepper Mark Warburton’s conversation. The terms he returns to time and again. ‘Finding solutions’ is the current buzzphrase. The mantra he turned to the morning after a damning, damaging defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle last month.

It’s tempting now to wonder how Rangers might have reacted that day to a call from the English FA.

An admirer of Warburton’s work in youth development, FA technical director Dan Ashworth has placed the Rangers boss on a wishlist to take over England’s Under-21 team.

Post-Hearts defeat, there were supporters who might have started the engine and driven the manager south themselves.

Yet midfielder Andy Halliday credits his manager with practising what he preaches. He adapted his tactics and won games against Aberdeen, Hearts and Hamilton. He found solutions.

‘I always believe that every game is massive for this football club but, after losing at Tynecastle, there was an extra spice to the one against Aberdeen,’ said Halliday.

‘We knew that we needed to start putting in performances and getting results and, three matches down the line, we’ve picked up nine points.

‘We had a lot to say, as a group, after losing to Hearts. Our video analysis usually lasts for about 20 minutes but it went on for an hour after that because we all had a lot to say about how we wanted to move forward as a group.

‘Since then, I think you’ve seen a different dimension to us. We’ll never deviate from how we want to play the game because that’s been imprinted on us over the last 18 months.

‘Opposing teams have been very brave against us this season and I don’t think we’ve always taken advantage by using a different way of playing to combat that.

‘The gaffer always talks to us about finding solutions and that’s the key. In the last three games, we’ve found those solutions.’

The fickle nature of football should be clear to everybody.

If England’s FA come on the phone now, Halliday suspects they’ll receive no encouragement.

‘If that story is true, then we all want to keep him because he has been the main factor,’ added the midfielder.

‘In my opinion anyway, there has been quite a big progression in the last 18 months.

‘I think I am pretty confident on that one. I know the gaffer likes it here.’

Warburton himself insists he is committed to Rangers. The suspicion is he will return south one day — his family home remains in England.

What kind of offers come hinge on the next 18 months; whether the Rangers manager can halt the Brendan Rodgers momentum in the face of Celtic’s European revenue and turn the tanker round.

‘Such are the demands and expectations at this football club that we need to win every game,’ said Halliday.

‘We can never settle for second and I’m not going to apologise for that. Celtic were always going to be favourites to win the league and deservedly so because their start to this campaign has been phenomenal.

‘But it’s important for us to win. Celtic are 14 points clear with a game in hand but we just need to keep chipping away at their lead and, hopefully, by the end of the season, we should be okay.’

With the budget at Warburton’s disposal, second place is pretty much the minimum requirement.

On the back of three wins, a gap has opened on Hearts and Aberdeen, and another home game against Inverness today offers an opportunity to maintain the momentum before Celtic’s visit next weekend.

‘The most important thing is our results and, after losing at Tynecastle, we stressed that our season starts now,’ added Halliday.

‘We didn’t deserve to pick up points earlier because we hadn’t been playing well but we’ve since had three very comprehensive wins.

‘It’s the first time this season that we’ve had three wins in a row and now we’re looking at a word we haven’t had used against us so far, and that’s complacency.

‘We can’t allow that to creep in now because we’ve gained a bit of momentum and played some good stuff but we can’t rest on our laurels because there’s an Inverness team coming to Ibrox who’ll be looking to take points from us.’

It’s now 15 months since any away team tasted victory at Ibrox. That four of their five December fixtures are home games should add a note of caution to the recovery talk. As Halliday concedes, Rangers must also find a way to win consistently at venues like Tynecastle.

‘It’s a pretty good home record so far but I’m always trying to be a perfectionist and we’ve got to look at our away form because that’s been pretty poor this year,’ he continued.

‘We’ve got to improve that but the home results shows what our fans can do for us. This Saturday’s the third sell-out in a row and to do that on Christmas Eve is pretty impressive.

‘Our support deserve total credit for the backing they’ve given us — it looks as though we might have got a Christmas No 1 as well, which is the first time that’s ever happened.’

In Joe Garner, Rangers have found a focal point. A dogged figure with the kind of determination they needed badly post-Hearts.

‘When you watch him on the park, he always gives 100 per cent and he fights for every ball as if it was his last,’ said Halliday.

‘The fans have bought into that and rightly so.

‘As a supporter, the first thing you demand is effort and I don’t think anyone can take that away from Joe. When I speak about the different dimension we’ve brought to our play recently, Joe has been key to that.’

Garner, claims Halliday, has been relaxed over the possibility of his tribute song making Christmas No 1.

‘Harry Forrester’s been more excited than Joe is,’ he said. ‘I caught him listening to it in the car when he was driving into training the other morning…’