Mark Warburton relishing Rangers closed doors Spurs test

Rangers will meet Tottenham in a warm-up game for the Scottish Cup final. Picture: Michael Gillen

Mark Warburton believes his Rangers side will get the perfect preparation for the William Hill Scottish Cup final when they face Tottenham in London today.

The Ibrox side face Spurs in a closed-door friendly as they step up their plans for their Hampden date with Hibs on 21 May.

It is unlikely the Ladbrokes Championship winners will come up against many of Mauricio Pochettino’s big hitters but Warburton reckons the work-out is just what his players need. He said: “It’s always a stern challenge and it’s a magnificent training base – one of the very best in Europe, there’s no doubt about that.

“So we know it will be tough test and it’s what we need, we need that sharpener and that will hold us in good stead for the 21st.”

The match will be staged at Spurs’ Enfield training ground and Warburton insists Rangers can learn a lot from the club he has always supported.

He said: “It’s important for us in terms of it being the final game before the cup final, so that is the 
obvious benefit of that. We’re very thankful to Spurs for their hospitality, they are a tremendous club and we can learn a lot from Tottenham.

“I know I’m talking as a Spurs fan here but forget the bias, their academy is first class with a number of players coming through.

“You look at Harry Kane, Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason, Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore. Nabil Bentaleb is now coming through and so is Alex Pritchard.

“It’s a fantastic academy. We have Dom Ball here [on loan] who’s been a credit to Spurs and to himself 
of course.”

Warburton hopes to use the match to showcase Rangers as a potential destination should Spurs look to farm out more of their youngsters on loan.

He said: “We’ve taken players in the past, we had young Alex Pritchard at Brentford last year, Dom Ball this year, so again this shows that we can create that environment that is conducive to the players’ development and, hopefully, strengthen the relationship with Tottenham.”