Scots turn to Rangers for training assistance
LEE WALLACE and Barrie McKay did not feature in Gordon Strachan’s squad but Rangers could yet make a contribution to the Scotland World Cup cause by hosting training sessions at their Auchenhowie complex.
Strachan and his coaching staff, Mark McGhee and Aberdeen assistant manager Tony Docherty, intend moving several of their warm-up sessions to the Rangers Football Centre.
That means that six of Celtic’s titlewinning group will be preparing for their final match of the campaign — a World Cup qualifier on Saturday, June 10 — as Pedro Caixinha’s squad return for pre-season.
The Portuguese coach has set June 5 as the date for his squad to regroup and prepare for their early Europa League start with medical and fitness tests.
Injury ruled Wallace out of the final six weeks of the season and the England game while McKay has been in and out of Caixinha’s team and the subject of suggestions he could be sold this summer.
However, Strachan did turn to Rangers to find an ideal base with good pitches that was accessible from the Scotland team hotel, Mar Hall.
It’s understood the surface at the camp is not ideal for use during an entire week’s buildup to a competitive international.
That means Strachan will once again not be utilising Scotland’s £33million elite sports performance centre Oriam in Edinburgh.