Derek Johnstone: Charleston trip is ideal preparation for Rangers - but the League Cup campaign isn't

It is only a matter of weeks since the Scottish Cup final but attentions are now firmly fixed on the Betfred Cup tie with Motherwell next month and the opening match of the Premiership at home to Hamilton Accies on August 6.

Mark Warburton has admitted that such a short break hasn’t been ideal for his squad, and he has also got the League Cup section to factor in this season as well.

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You are never going to please everyone and that is always a problem. What is good for some is not going to be good for others and that is the case with this competition.

Mark will have been looking at his pre-season plans a few months ago and the League Cup campaign is not ideal. But it is something that Rangers just have to get on with.

The squad will play games amongst themselves, but whether they will have had enough competitive football under their belts before the Motherwell game we will have to wait and see. The bonus for Mark is that, with the new players coming in, every player will be desperate to get into the starting line-up.

Mark will have choices in every position and if that doesn’t keep you on your toes in pre-season then you shouldn’t be at the club.

The lads that were there last season will know that the ones that have come in are good players and if they don’t impress during the summer then they won’t be in the team at the start of the season.

That will get players going and everyone will want to get in the manager’s head. If you don’t show up well early, then you won’t be in the team because Mark has brought in players that are starters.

They had to be better than the ones that left, and that is the case. That is the competitive nature that Mark will want.

It is good that Mark is taking the squad away to Charleston for a few days and it will certainly help the squad gel ahead of the new season.

If you are working at the training ground, you don’t spend as much time with your team-mates and you just work with them and then head home.

When you are away, you are with each other all the time, you get bonds with players and you can go out and about together. The squad will eat and train together, they will have some time to relax and bond together and that is invaluable for a group of players.

When you are bringing in a handful of players, you need to give the group a chance to familiarise themselves with each other and for the new recruits to settle in.

The training sessions will look after themselves and I am sure Mark will work the squad really hard in Charleston. But when they are off the training field, they have a chance to get to know each other a bit better and that will certainly stand everyone in good stead.

By the time they come back at the end of their trip, the new players will have settled into the squad and the lads that were there last season will know all about the guys that have come into the squad.

After the friendly with Charleston Battery, the countdown will then be on to the first game of the season at Fir Park.

Rangers could have just spent the time in Glasgow or gone to England but it is not the same as going away to somewhere like America.

It is nice to go and train in the sunshine and it will be a really useful ten days for the squad. The manager will learn a lot about the new players and will be able to get his message across to the squad ahead of the new campaign.

The focus this season, as it always is at Rangers, is to win every competition. That is what Willie Waddell and Jock Wallace used to say to us, and that is what Mark will be saying to his players. If Rangers are in a competition, they are in it to win it.

I played in the League Cup sections and it did work at that time. These fixtures have to be taken seriously and Mark will have to play a strong team in every game.

The incentive for every player is to ensure they are in the team ahead of the start of the Premiership.

They have to hit the ground running, show what they can do in training and get themselves into the team for the friendly games and bounce games leading into the competitive fixtures.

You don’t want to be sitting on the bench for the League Cup games, or the visit of Hamilton on the first day of the league. If you get in the team and play well then you can stay in the side.

A few players maybe got away with it last year but that won’t be the case this season. If you don’t perform, the manager has options there and you might find yourself out of the team.

No matter who you are playing against, you have to impress the manager early in the season. He doesn’t accept people not trying and slack performances.

You have to work hard and put in the effort in training if you want to be in the team come match day. That is why pre-season is so important for players.

We have signed some really good players this summer and there will be real competition for a place in the team for the Motherwell game.

There is not long to go now and Rangers fans are right to be excited about what lies ahead next season.