After last week returning to the Rangers Training Centre, albeit under rather different circumstances given the Coronavirus restrictions, the squad have been hard at work in preparation for the new season.
For Arfield, he’s taken well to the new way of working, and feels the programmes the players have been working on since their last game on March 12 has benefited him enormously.
“I feel really good,” he told RangersTV. “I feel really sharp and I feel really fit. We’ve been given programmes ever since the Celtic game was called off on the 15th of March – programmes from that Monday and right through, and we have been following them.
“We’re a really fit group of boys, but it’s a different scenario not being on the pitch, and when you get a ball, it’s a different kind of fitness but I think in the next two or three weeks we’ll see the best of that.
“I’ve loved [being back]. It’s back to some sort of normality, albeit we are only training in small groups, but it is good to see everyone.
“As I’ve always said, you need a chameleon mindset – you need to adapt to your surroundings and scenarios that you’re thrown into. The quicker you do that, the more you take on-board and the easier it is for everybody.”
Arfield, who always has such a positive outlook on life, has found ways to enjoy the last three months, continuing: “They have been very unique in a football situation, but I have to admit, I’ve loved it and I have taken the positives from it through the full three months.
“Of course it was hard [not seeing teammates], but I think in this day and age with technology, we can stay in-touch in that scenario. But there is nothing like human contact in any place of work, so of course, it was hard, but I think the biggest picture through everything was coming back and being ready to go ahead of another ginormous season for us.”
One man who Arfield was full of praise for was Club Doctor, Dr Mark Waller, who has been leading Rangers’ response to the virus, and also been instrumental in a wider Scottish football sense.
Arfield added: “He’s been brilliant. Even just after the Leverkusen game when the virus was beginning to be an issue, he let everyone know as clearly as possible where they stood.
“Dr Waller has been on it, and it just shows, when you have a doctor like him leading everyone, you can’t go wrong.”