Warburton is tempted to rest players
Holt aims to hold down place under Warburton next term after making a Rangers shirt his own
RANGERS boss Mark Warburton has admitted he will select his team for today’s Petrofac Training Cup Final with one eye on next weekend’s keenly-anticipated showdown with Celtic.
Warburton has the opportunity to raise his first trophy in the Ibrox job via a Hampden date with League One outfit Peterhead, but acknowledges that his side faces a more significant occasion in the Scottish Cup semi-final seven days later.
Both Hearts loanee Billy King and mid-season signing from St Johnstone Michael O’Halloran are cup-tied for the Celtic game and may be handed starts this afternoon in a bid to keep the likes of the in-form Barrie McKay fresh.
‘The obvious thing would be to play Billy and Michael,’ said Warburton. ‘Then again, I might want to play the team I want to play against Celtic and give it an hour.
‘It’s the same 18 players we had on Tuesday and against Raith last weekend. That’s our squad. So, I might want to give players a rest.
‘When I say we’re tight on numbers I’m not joking. But I want it that way. Everyone’s felt and tasted the first team. They are involved and walking out, which is really important.’
JASON HOLT got the medal but was denied the right to party as Hearts secured last season’s Championship title. The midfielder is still waiting for this year’s bauble to be presented but there was no way he was going to pass up on the celebrations as Rangers secured automatic promotion at Ibrox in midweek.
Absent from Tynecastle as he rejuvenated his career during a loan spell at Sheffield United in 2015, Holt has further flourished since securing a permanent transfer to Glasgow, emerging as the key fulcrum between midfield and attack in Mark Warburton’s title-winning outfit.
He admits the moment the final whistle sounded on Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Dumbarton introduced him to a new kind of jubilation.
‘That’s the best feeling I’ve had so far in my career,’ he reflected. ‘The noise throughout the game and at the end was different class.
‘It was better than last season because I’ve been involved since day one. That makes it a little bit more special for me.’
Yet, even as the champagne bubbles danced on the Rangers’ players’ tongues, thoughts were skipping ahead to the next set of challenges.
As successful as another league winner’s medal will make Holt’s first season in a Rangers jersey, the midfielder is fully alert to the fact far greater challenges lie ahead.
Today’s Petrofac Training Cup Final against Peterhead looks minor in comparison to next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic, the game in which Warburton will be given a tradesman’s quote on just how big a rebuilding job is needed for next season.
The Ibrox manager has promised to add ‘four or five’ new players to make his team competitive in next season’s Premiership, which means even a regular fixture like Holt cannot consider himself a certainty to hold down his place in the team.
Warburton has made a virtue of the fact he has run with a small squad since his switch from Brentford last summer and Holt wants to remain at the forefront of the coach’s thoughts when the first whistle is sounded on the club’s top-flight campaign next term.
‘It’s one of them — if you’ve got the shirt you need to prove your worth and try to keep it,’ continued Holt, 23. ‘The squad is very capable but the gaffer has said that competition will be really healthy for this squad because it will keep everyone working hard and pushing for a place.
‘The gaffer is always stressing that he keeps the squad nice and lean and we have a really close-knit squad. There’s good harmony in the dressing room and everyone gets along.’
Having failed to convince Robbie Neilson that he was worthy of a regular game at Tynecastle, Holt has felt much more at home as part of Warburton’s attack-minded unit.
Had things worked out differently at Bramall Lane, where Nigel Clough was sacked last summer, he might have remained in Sheffield for the longer term and followed on a completely different career path.
A development that may have seemed disappointing at the time is now viewed as a blessing.
‘Football is a funny game like that,’ he admitted. ‘People come and go all the time and I’ve found myself here at the start of the season.
‘I’ve just loved every minute, to be honest.
‘The style of play and the whole thing just feels like it’s all come together. It’s been really nice.
‘Since day one we have all been working towards the same ambition and that was to get Rangers back up to the Premiership.
‘I think there was added pressure from outside our dressing room but we just kept at it, kept doing what we were good at. We knew that, if we stuck to our principles, we would get our rewards.
‘All the boys are so happy to get over the line and win the league. But the gaffer keeps stressing that we won’t stop here, we’ve got big games coming up and we want to finish the season strong.’
A huge Rangers support will back the team against League One’s Peterhead this afternoon but next Sunday’s showdown with the current Premiership champions represents the real benchmark of where Rangers stand — and is the fixture every fan is looking forward to.
Warburton has faced accusations that his unwavering devotion to a forward-going game-plan could be his team’s undoing — if not next Sunday, then in the regular cut and thrust of the top flight next term.
Just like his boss, Holt sees no reason to change.
‘When the Celtic game comes we will be more than prepared and ready for it,’ he insisted. ‘And next season we’ll just keep doing the same stuff.
‘We won’t change anything, We might come up against some tougher teams but we will be really prepared and equipped for that.
‘Like Hearts, we want to go up and hit the ground running. We want to push ourselves in that league. As I said, nothing will change from our point of view, we will keep doing the things that have got us success.
‘We have our style and that’s how we do it.’