Report: Two Rangers stars barely kicked a ball in training last season, despite playing most matches

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Glasgow Rangers defenders James Tavernier and Connor Goldson hardly kicked a ball in training last season, according to The Athletic.

The report suggests that the two Rangers defenders played so much football in the club’s last campaign, that they barely trained with the squad and would normally only do gym work after a match.

When manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst arrived at Ibrox last November, his side were still competing on four fronts, although they were eliminated from the Scottish League Cup in his first week in Glasgow.

However, a run in the Scottish Cup that saw van Bronckhorst win his first trophy with the club, alongside the league campaign and a draining Europa League run meant van Bronckhorst had less than three full days of training during his first six months at the club.

Tavernier and Goldson were pivotal to van Bronckhorst’s tactics, and played 58 and 61 games last season, giving them little time between matches and recovery to join their teammates on the training ground.

The pair were in what is known as the ‘red zone’, which meant they weren’t subjected to the rigours of training often, through the fear of overloading them.

Rangers must make pre-season training pay this season

Losing the Scottish Premiership title to Celtic, and a heart-breaking Europa League final to Eintracht Frankfurt last season will be ample motivation to kick on in training from day one.

Rangers also have an important Champions League qualifier against Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise next week, and Goldson and Tavernier will be hoping the Ibrox crowd – praised recently by Spurs manager Antonio Conte – will give them that extra edge.

The Athletic’s report goes on to say that Rangers recruitment this season has centred on versatile players, with John Lundstram and on-loan American James Sands expected to help transition from a four to a three-man defence when needed.

With expectation high and van Bronckhorst looking to put his stamp on this Rangers side, Tavernier and Goldson will be hoping to spend more time with a ball at their feet in training this season, without sacrificing game time.