DAVID McCallum says that the Rangers B Team need to be ‘ready to go again’ as they step back into Lowland League action on Tuesday night against Bonnyrigg Rose at Dumbarton Stadium.
The B team boss highlighted the levels the squad must reach in training and at kick-off against the league winners whilst some players are still away on international duty.
Speaking exclusively to RangersTV ahead of the match, he said: “It’s been a bit different, there are lads away on international duty, but we still have a group of players here and some of the younger ones that we can bring in and make the squad ready to go for the game.
“We’ve had a couple of good days training and they’ve had some time off through the international break as well which was well earned, there’s been a lot of football played in recent weeks and months, and it’s important for the remaining part of the season that the lads are fresh and ready to go.
TICKETS: The match will kick-off at 7.45pm and tickets are available for just £7 for adults and £3 for concessions and juveniles HERE.
"We’ve tried to use the days and weeks wisely, but ultimately when it comes to the game against Bonnyrigg, we need to be ready to go again.
“I think that it’s important that we congratulate them on having won the league, their consistency throughout the season has been terrific.
"Ultimately, they deserved to have won the league, but from our point of view, we look back on the game when we played them earlier on in the season and it was a game that we really enjoyed and that was competitive and challenging, we have to make sure that this game is the same.
“We came out on top in the last game and that was one that was earned, it didn’t just happen we had to fight for that one and make sure that we were defensively really strong.
"We’ll treat it as an individual game and look back on the previous one, but a lot of time has passed since that game, so we have to be ready to contest and contend with the challenges that come our way.
"We’ll try and look at ourselves first and foremost and make sure that we reach the levels that we have and can.”
McCallum reflected on the last time that the young Gers played the Midlothian side earlier in the season and the opportunity this challenging fixture will provide for the U18’s stepping into the squad.
He added: “The league programme has been a bit fragmented in recent weeks, we had a lot of Glasgow Cup games and played Celtic in the league recently but prior to that, there was a bit of a gap. I think now it’s just about getting back to that refocussing bit.
“The pitches have changed since the last time that we played Bonnyrigg, but we’ll still try and play the way that we want to play and focus on what we’re good at – thereafter it’s about how we manage what will come our way.
"We know what they’re like, they’ve won the league for a reason, it will be an interesting night on Tuesday and hopefully, we come out on top.
“Most of the lads that are going to be involved in the group have been involved in different points in the season, it’s not completely new to them there will be some familiarity in there as well.
"The players that are still here from not being away internationally will have to step up and try and lead these younger lads at the same time, it’s a good challenge for them.
“It’s similar in how we try and bridge the gap between the two groups anyway, so nothing will be completely new it will just be trying to fit the group and whatever part these lads have got to play that these lads understand their role.”
Gers will welcome the Midlothian side to Dumbarton on Tuesday, March 29 for what is set to be another exciting challenge in the Lowland League.
The match will kick-off at 7.45pm and tickets are available for just £7 for adults and £3 for concessions and juveniles HERE.
Come along and get behind the Young Gers!