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Mark Warburton says Spurs perfect cup final warm-up for Rangers

Rangers manager Mark Warburton (centre) and Lee Wallace with the Scottish Championship trophy
Image: Rangers manager Mark Warburton (centre) and Lee Wallace with the Scottish Championship trophy

Mark Warburton believes his Rangers side will get the perfect preparation for the Scottish Cup final when they face Tottenham at the Londoners' training base on Wednesday.

Gers face the Premier League side in a behind-closed-doors friendly as they step up plans for their Hampden date with Hibernian, live on Sky Sports on May 21.

It is unlikely the Scottish Championship winners will come up against many of Mauricio Pochettino's star names but Warburton believes the work-out is just what his side need as they chase a treble, having claimed the Petrofac Training Cup prior to securing the second tier title.

When asked what strength of Spurs side he expects his side to face, he told RangersTV: "We'll find out, but whatever it will be it will be a technically gifted, very athletic team.

"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 a tough test and it's what we need, we need that sharpener and that will hold us in good stead for the 21st."

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Rangers players celebrate winning the Petrofac Training Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, Glasgow
Image: Rangers players celebrate winning the Petrofac Training Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, Glasgow

The match will take place at Tottenham's Enfield training base and Warburton insists Rangers can learn a lot from the club he supports.

"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," he added.

"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.

Rangers defender Dominic Ball
Image: Dominic Ball returning to Spurs with Rangers

"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 who's been a credit to Spurs and to himself.

"Dom has come up and the players are hungry, so we are delighted to have a good relationship with Spurs and we'll go down there and look forward to what will be a very challenging game."

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Former Brentford boss Warburton also hopes to use the match to showcase Rangers as a potential destination should Spurs look to send out more of their youngsters on loan.

"We've taken players in the past, we had young Alex Pritchard at Brentford last year, Dom Ball this year," said Warburton.

"Again, this shows we can create that environment that is conducive to the players' development and hopefully strengthen the relationship with Tottenham."

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