Mark Warburton: Fixture list is far from ideal preparation for Rangers

The fixture will take place at Fir Park on July 16 in the recently revamped League Cup, three weeks before the Premiership season kicks off on August 6.

Warburton is looking forward to a pre-season friendly with last season's English Championship winners Burnley, but was clear when asked if he would have preferred to start the Betfred Cup campaign against teams from the lower leagues.

Read more: Rangers boss Mark Warburton insists Old Firm battle won't ruin his friendship with Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers

“Absolutely," he said. "I understand why it is what it is, but we have to speak honestly and say it doesn’t suit us in terms of ideal preparation.

“Burnley on the 30th is a great game for us – they are a Premier League team and we know the strength of the squad Sean Dyche will bring to Ibrox. We know it will be a very stern test and they will recruit well over the summer.

“We have to look to stagger and build-up the pre-season programme, and to have it as it is, is far from appropriate and far from the best option for us.

Read more: Mark Warburton: Old Firm triumph was key to luring stars to Rangers this summer

“But we can’t fight it. We have to deal with it and get on with it.”

The manager will also have to keep his team busy during the newly introduced winter break in January, when there will be no league action for three weeks.

“We have ideas – but we had ideas after the Cup Final," said Warburton.

"The fact is we start the season very early in July, and then have a three week break. This is just my opinion, but I’m not really sure what you do with the players.

“They have three weeks off – so you give them four or five days before they come back, you see if you can some warm weather training and a friendly game to get match sharpness again, and then you come back and have a week’s training. I’m not really sure what we achieve by having it.”

Rangers kick off the Premiership season at home to Hamilton at Ibrox on August 6 and while Warburton is looking forward to getting going, he refused to target the league title as a defining objective for the club to have a successful campaign.

He said: "The pitch will be outstanding and we hope it will be a sell-out crowd that will passionately behind the team.

“It’s always fantastic to walk out at a stadium of the quality of Ibrox, but between now and then, we need to make sure we maximise this working time and be in good shape. It will be a tough season and we know the quality of challenge we face.

“Other teams will come and will enjoy Ibrox – the capacity crowd and the great playing surface – so don’t forget it inspires the opposition but what we have to do is recognise that, dominate the game and impose ourselves, and as always, seek to get the result.

“A good season for us is to be pleased with the level of performance. If we are pleased with the level of performance, then the rest will naturally follow suit.

“It is important for us to impose ourselves on games, important to dominate possession and to maximise and use our possession wisely in terms of creating chances, and also to rotate the squad well.

“We need a slightly bigger squad and we need that experience for the demands and physicality of the Scottish Premiership, so if we get the level of performance right, we will be in a good place.”