Warburton: Complacency is our worst enemy

Mark Warburton has admitted he deals with the threat of complacency at Rangers on a daily basis.

Published 2nd Oct 2015

Mark Warburton has admitted he deals with the threat of complacency at Rangers on a daily basis.

The Ibrox club have won their first eight Championship games, with only a Scottish League Cup defeat to St Johnstone spoiling a perfect start to their campaign.

Saturday's visitors Falkirk, who are unbeaten in the league but nine points behind having played a fixture less, are the only team Rangers are yet to play.

Warburton believes securing victory to complete the clean sweep in the first quarter of fixtures would send out a statement, saying "it would be foolish to say anything other than that, it has to be'', but insists that standards will not be allowed to drop.

The former Brentford boss said: "It is a good start by us. The biggest enemy to us will be us, any complacency or lack of preparation will hurt us.

"We have to be best prepared for every game and we will be.

"We mention it (possible complacency) every single day. If we fall behind in training we dig it out, if someone is late for training we fine them.

"If someone is sloppy we just don't pick them. That's the best weapon.

"If someone is not up to standard just don't put them in the XI. They will come and talk to you and we tell them why.

"We have some tough challenges ahead. Falkirk are the closest challengers, well organised, so you respect that fully.''

Warburton remains keen on signing former Derby midfielder John Eustace.

The 35-year-old, released by the English Championship club in the summer, has been helping the backroom staff at Ibrox while trying to get fit enough to win a playing contract.

Warburton said: "He is trying to get fit and once he gets fit we will sit down and have a conversation.

"But John has to get fit and he is in the process of doing that hopefully.

"He has a role to play right now, working with us and his experience is vitally important.

"He is a good guy, he has played at the highest level for a number of years, an outstanding player with a great knowledge of the game.

"He is going to be an excellent coach in the future but right now we want him to be a player for Rangers. Hopefully we are talking a couple of weeks.''