TAKING on Spurs, who finished fourth in the Premier League back in May, in their final pre-season friendly at Ibrox on Saturday was always going to be a stern test for Rangers.
So the narrow 2-1 defeat that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side suffered at the hands of Antonio Conte’s team will do nothing to dent their confidence ahead of the new campaign.
Quite the opposite, in fact, may well be the case.
The Europa League finalists competed well against the visitors for long spells, created good scoring chances and deservedly took the lead in the first-half thanks to an Antonio Colak strike.
A Harry Kane brace in the space of six minutes after half-time, the second of which was teed up by his strike partner Heung-min Son, gave the London club the lead.
But Rangers were unfortunate not to level late on; former Celtic keeper Fraser Forster was unaffected by the boos which greeted his every touch of the ball after replacing Hugo Lloris and kept Spurs in front.
James Tavernier and his team mates will be in a positive frame of mind when they travel to West Lothian this weekend to play Livingston in their opening cinch Premiership fixture.
So what did we learn from the weekend workout? How are Rangers looking ahead of their eagerly-anticipated match at the Tony Macaroni Stadium? Here are five talking points.
MCGREGOR AIN’T FOR SHIFTING
When Jon Mclaughlin was replaced by Allan McGregor in the closing stages of the Scottish Cup final win over Hearts at Hampden in May it was interpreted by many as being the end of the latter’s Rangers career.
The former Scotland internationalist’s contract was set to expire in the summer and his future was uncertain.
But the 40-year-old signed a one year extension last month and on the evidence of his impressive display against Spurs he has a very good chance of retaining his first team place in the months ahead.
He denied Dejan Kulusevski, Eric Dyer and Kane in the first-half and then Ryan Sessegnon early in the second.
It has been suggested that Van Bronckhorst – who was non-committal over who would be his No 1 in the 2022/23 season on Saturday night – may prefer McLaughlin from now on due to his ability with the ball at his feet.
But McGregor showed he is no slouch in that department either. He certainly knows how to keep the ball out of his net too. He should get the nod to start against Livingston and thereafter.
MATONDA MAGIC
Many new arrivals to Rangers have suggested they are going to make a major impact in Scottish football and entertain the Ibrox support to boot with lively early performances only to ultimately disappoint.
There were great hopes for Nathan Oduwa, for example, when the Spurs loanee pulled off an audacious rainbow flick against Alloa back in 2015. But he was unable to hold down a regular place.
Just last season, Amad Diallo netted against Ross County five minutes into the first game he had been involved since arriving from Manchester United. But he was seldom sighted thereafter.
So Rabbi Matondo, a £2.5m capture from German club Schalke earlier this month, still has much to do to justify the outlay it took to secure his services. He must show that he can give his new side a cutting edge in the final third at home and abroad on a consistent basis.
But so far so good certainly.
The Welsh internationalist set up a goal and scored another in the 3-1 triumph over West Ham last Tuesday night. He supplied Colak against Spurs on Saturday.
The 11-times capped 21-year-old is fast, skilful and works hard in all areas of the park. Early days, but he looks to be an excellent acquisition.
The way he ghosted past Cristian Romero and Sessegnon and then squared into the six yard box before the opener on Saturday suggested that he will be a potent weapon in attack going forward.
GOAL BOOST
With Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe both weeks away from being fully fit, Van Bronckhorst is short of options up front entering the first week of the season.
So he will have been pleased to see Colak, the Croatian internationalist who he brought in from PAOK in Greece for £1.8m earlier this month, get on the scoresheet for the first time against Spurs.
The 6ft 2in 28-year-old had looked decent in his run-outs for Rangers against Sunderland, Blackpool and West Ham. But a goal had eluded him.
He made no mistake after Matondo and Tavernier had combined to tee him up with an opportunity in the six yard box in the first-half. Opening his account will have given the experienced marksman a much-needed lift.
BARISIC THREAT
It will be interesting to see who Van Bronckhorst prefers at left back once the signing of Turkish internationalist Ridvan Yilmak from Besiktas has been finalised.
The 21-year-old will cost Rangers a cool £5.4m – making him the seventh most expensive player in their 150 year history.
The former Super Lig winner played in the Champions League last term and will be hoping to feature on a regular basis both domestically and in Europe.
But Borna Barisic showed he will not be easy to displace at the weekend by getting upfield and sending some excellent deliveries into the opposition penalty box.
It is a nice problem for Van Bronckhorst to have.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGE
Rangers had McGregor to thank at the weekend for keeping them in touch with Spurs; Conte’s charges carved out a raft of scoring opportunities during the 90 minutes.
But Tavernier, Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Barisic will not face many front lines better than Kane and Son in their careers.
Van Bronckhorst was pleased with how his defence coped against two players he believes are among the top five strikers in the world game.
The Dutchman’s first objective this season is to secure a lucrative place in the Champions League group stages and Rangers take on Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in the first leg of the third qualifying round in Belgium a week tomorrow.
If the Ibrox club make it through to that competition for the first time since 2010 they will not be daunted by the calibre of predator they come up against.
