Barry Ferguson has shared his experience of managing a heavy schedule at Rangers and even revealed that he probably never went into a game feeling completely 100 per cent.
This comes in the light of Rangers boss Philippe Clement using sports science as a reason why key players such as Nicolas Raskin, Vaclav Cerny, and Hamza Igamane didn't start against St Mirren and Motherwell. Two Scottish Premiership matches in which Rangers dropped points.
The Light Blues followed up those two disappointing results by playing their strongest XI against Celtic on January 2, a match they triumphed 3-0 winners.
Clement, who still has to make decision on several absentees before the next league clash against Hibernian on Sunday, has called for consistency in Rangers' performances.
And Ferguson thinks choosing the exact same starting XI for the trip to Easter Road three days later is exactly what he should be doing to achieve that.
"Im not going to lie, I think it [sports science] helped me play until the age of 37," the former Rangers captain told the Go Radio Football Show.
"But you know your body better than anybody else, and look, you are going to feel a wee bit tired and under the weather at times.
"However, when it comes to game time, that's your motivation to play football, that's what you are paid to do.
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"I got asked that question yesterday and I don't think I've ever played a game 100 per cent fit to be honest with you.
"Don't get me wrong it is tough at times playing three games a week. One season I think I played 62 games in the UEFA Cup run and towards the end I was feeling it, but you know what? They completely changed my training.
"If we had a game on the Thursday night, I would do nothing basically on the Friday or the Saturday, it would just be in the gym stretching or in the water, and then it would be back out on the Sunday then you would go again on the Thursday.
"So, it's just about managing, and everybody is different. People's bodies are different but if the manager came to me and said, 'Barry, are you ready to go?' I'd be saying, 'Aye, I'm 100 per cent ready to go'.
"It shows, the players who have been left out the previous two games against St Mirren and Motherwell, you see the difference that they make.
"You are going into a game and you are carrying a wee strain or you are a bit stiff in your calf or your hamstring, thigh, back, whatever it is, just start the game, get in front two goals and then your rest period is coming off at half-time or coming off at 60, 70 minutes. That's generally what happened when I played with something when you were touch and go.
"As long as you get into the game and get comfortable in a result then the manager would make a decision to bring you off.
"In terms of going into that game at Easter Road on Sunday, if that starting XI have no issues, then it's the same starting XI that started the game yesterday."
