THE start of the Premiership season is now just days away and Rangers will play their final game before the big kick-off when they face Burnley tomorrow afternoon.
Mark Warburton’s side have played four games in the Betfred Cup and won all of them, but there is no doubt that the Burnley fixture is the biggest test they will have this summer.
The fixtures against Motherwell, Annan, East Stirlingshire and Stranraer were useful in terms of fitness and sharpness, but Mark has said himself that it is far from the ideal schedule ahead of the new league season.
Even after these four Group F games, I doubt he knows what his strongest side.
He doesn’t have a first eleven right now, he has a squad that are all able to play to a high level.
What he thinks is his best line-up for one game might not be for another, but I would think the team that starts at Ibrox this weekend will be close to the one that plays against Hamilton Accies.
This is the last chance he has to try things out and there will be changes made throughout the game.
I would imagine there will be more from Burnley, though, considering that they are much earlier into their pre-season ahead of their return to the Premier League.
It was a good game against Sean Dyche’s side last year and it was a goal from Scott Arfield that proved the difference on the night. This will be another tough test for Rangers.
Burnley press the game well, they will stop Rangers playing out from the back and they are good on the break. 
They have obviously lost Joey Barton from their squad last season, but they have signed a few players since winning the Championship and it will be good for Mark to see how his side compete at Ibrox.
The games in the League Cup have served a purpose and Rangers have impressed in them. With 12 points, ten goals and none conceded, you can’t ask for much more.
But they won’t get the same possession against Burnley as they did in the cup and they will be tested more all over the park.
It will be good preparation for going away to Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts in the Premiership when Rangers might not be able to dominate the ball as much as they like.
This is certainly a game worth having. It worked out well for both clubs last season as they went on to win their respective leagues and Mark and Sean Dyche will hope that this is the start of another good league campaign for their sides.
One area where Rangers haven’t really been under a lot of pressure so far this season is at the back.
It has all been fairly comfortable for the back four so far and, with all respect to the opposition, they haven’t been able to cause Rangers many problems.
Mark has tried out different combinations and everyone has had some game time so now he has a decision to make, especially at centre-half. He has to get the back four right.
Wes Foderingham, James Tavernier and Lee Wallace will start, but there is a decision to be made as to what two you pick from Clint Hill, Danny Wilson and Rob Kiernan.
In midfield, there is real quality with Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar coming into the squad you still have Andy Halliday, Jason Holt, Jordan Rossiter, Matt Crooks and Josh Windass who can play in there.
Up front, chances certainly haven’t been hard to come by in the games so far but I don’t think we will create as many tomorrow.
The onus, therefore, is on the forwards to make the most of the opportunities they get and hopefully they can get another couple of goals heading into the Premiership.
The signings over the summer have come in and played and done well and there will be a different look to the side this season than there was last term.
It is not just a quality eleven that Mark has now, it is a very good first team group.
With better players coming in across the squad, there are not as many automatic picks for Mark this season and he will have a selection headache each week.
The players that start the season know that they have to perform at a high level or they will drop out of the side. If you don’t play well, you won’t play.
So the ones that feature against Burnley and then against Accies will be under pressure right away and that is not a situation Rangers were in too often last season.
That is why the Burnley game is important for Mark and the players and he will be looking for a good performance, and a win hopefully, to round off what has been a productive summer.
Then it will be time for the real action to get underway and for Rangers to set their sights on the Premiership title once again.
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