IT is a fact of Old Firm life that something big happening at either Rangers or Celtic is liable to have a direct impact on the other club.

At first glance, the arrival at Celtic Park of Scott Sinclair on a £4.5-million transfer from Aston Villa didn’t look like having an obvious effect on the rebuilding programme across the city.

Yet one-and-a-half electrifying displays from a player Manchester City once rated highly enough to pay £80,000 a week, and the Ibrox goalposts shifted.

Suddenly Philippe Senderos, ex-Arsenal, Valencia and AC Milan, was training at Murray Park and manager Mark Warburton was holding secretive talks with Joleon Lescott, the 26-times-capped England international.

Central defence, it was clear, had become the new top priority.

It is possible both moves would have happened, anyway, even if Sinclair had not come off the substitutes’ bench to score his dramatic winner against Hearts, then followed up with a startling display of pace and skill in the demolition of Motherwell in the League Cup.

Possible – but not probable.

Far more likely is they confirmed something Mark Warburton and David Weir had figured out – months after a large swathe of the club’s support had suspected it.

The heart of Rangers’ defence is also the team’s Achilles heel.

The partnership of Danny Wilson and Rob Kiernan did the job for Warburton and Weir last season, when helping the club complete the journey through the lower leagues by winning the Championship title.

They even hinted at future dominance when turning in their best performance together in the defeat of the Hoops in the Scottish Cup semi-final back in April.

Yet analysis of the statistics suggests the pairing was always liable to struggle to reach the very top standard.

In the 37 times they played together in Scotland second flight last year, Rangers conceded 38 goals (including 10 from set-pieces), a return that averages out at more than a goal per game.

Compare that to the figures recorded by Weir himself, in tandem with the talented but eccentric Madjid Bougherra five years earlier.

In their 36 appearances together, Rangers conceded 28 goals at an average 0.77 goals per game.

Impressive? It should be. Their parsimony helped the Govan club clinch the 2010/11 Premier League title, the last time the silverware was installed in the Ibrox Trophy Room.

Now trying to help plot a repeat of that success, Weir knows he is not dealing with a similarly solid proposition.

And sometimes the evidence of a moment reveals more than the study of figures.

At Dens Park eight days ago, the sight of Dundee’s Mark O’Hara scoring the easiest of goals spoke volumes.

A free header from a corner against a static defence, in many ways a carbon copy of the David Gray goal that took the Scottish Cup to Easter Road in May.

What was good enough to get the job done in the Championship, it said, will not be good enough to sparkle in the Premiership.

Two bits of transfer dealings, carried out even before the Senderos and Lescott activity that followed Scott Sinclair’s entrance at Celtic, also highlighted Rangers’ concerns.

One was very much short term in the shape of 37-year-old Clint Hill. The other appears very much long term, 19-year-old David Bates in on loan from Raith Rovers with a view to a £250,000 permanent switch in January.

But with the first Old Firm game of the season less than three weeks away, and Messrs Griffiths, Sinclair and Dembele on fire for the opposition, Rangers have been looking for more re-inforcements.

Lescott came, saw, thought about a medical and left. Senderos trained all week and must now know he was Warburton’s second choice as a central -defensive signing.

With Celtic given last weekend off by the SPFL, Rangers spent the week on top of the Premiership.

The fascination of the season ahead will be to see how long they will remain competitive against a Brendan Rodgers project set to be given £20 million worth of fresh impetus through qualification to the Champions League.

Whatever happens, it is unlikely to be dull.

 

Weir proved age is no barrier

MARK WARBURTON believes age is no barrier when it comes to improving his Rangers team.

The Ibrox boss has the evidence sitting next to him during every match in the shape of his assistant manager.

David Weir was still a top defender when he finally hung up his boots at the age of 41.

Rangers’ unsuccessful attempt to pair 34-year-old Joleon Lescott with 37-year-old Clint Hill would have added massive experience to the Light Blues’ defence.

Warburton isn’t rushing to label anyone as the new Davie Weir, but he believes players are better equipped than ever to perform well into their 30s.

“Just look at Kenny Miller and the way he’s playing at 36,” he said.

“And everyone is on about Joey Barton. Joey’s 33, but if their hunger is still there and they have looked after themselves, then they are in a good place.

“Clint Hill may be 37 but he trains like a demon every day.

“These are ultimate, top-class pros.

“You have to choose wisely, but Davie Weir was playing at 41, so he’s a great role model.

“We need a bit of physicality and ruggedness. We have young centre-backs in Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson.

“So another senior centre-half will be good for us.”

Rangers have had Philippe Senderos training with them and Warburton was hugely impressed with the physical condition of the 31-year-old.

He said: “You are talking about a guy who has been training on his own, not with a team.

“But players are getting more experienced and knowledgeable.

“These guys have personal trainers and know their bodies.

“Philippe went to Inter Milan and said he learnt a lot in that year in terms of training and looking after your body.”

Warburton says it’s hard for Rangers to look beyond England when it comes to recruiting players.

He explained: “We took a midfielder, Jota, from Spain when I was at Brentford. What a tremendous player he is.

“But during the first three months, we had to play him for no more than an hour and sometimes leave him on the bench.

“We had to get him used to the pace and intensity of the Championship.

“He’s now valued at about £8 million and cost £800,000.

“We can’t buy a player for £1 million at Rangers and leave him on the bench for three months. We don’t have that luxury.

“I hope the work we’re doing now puts us in a better position in the future.

“We can get some success and then be more attractive to players from overseas.

“It can be difficult when there’s a variety of agents offering us players – and they’re all world beaters!

“It’s amazing, but that’s the nature of the beast.”

 

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