Glasgow Rangers manager Mark Warburton has dismissed suggestions that their Scottish League Cup tie with St Johnstone is a significant marker of their progress.
Rangers have won all 11 games under Warburton but face Premiership opposition for the first time when the Perth side visit Ibrox in the third round.
However, Warburton is viewing the game as just one test of many they will face this season.
“The intrigue is always there for a game: to see how we prepare, how we train, and how we perform,” Warburton said.
“But there’s no specific intrigue because it’s a Premier League team. It’s the next challenge.
“They are a consistent top-six team, they have European experience, they have won cup finals. So we are always respectful.
“But right now we are in good shape, we are fit, we are mentally strong and we are looking forward to it.
“The run tells you that we are physically strong and mentally strong week after week, and hopefully it shows we have tactical awareness, so we are in good shape.”
Warburton does not want the game to be built up so much that his players are either carried away with victory or knocked down by defeat.
“You can’t build self-belief and confidence from the first day of pre-season in June until now and then say it changes on one game,” the former Brentford manager said.
“It can’t be that fragile. We knew we had a good group in pre-season and that’s been confirmed by the quality the last 11 games.
“So it’s not going to change massively on one game. If we have a shocking game or an outstanding game we are not suddenly a lousy team or world-beaters. But we will learn from any experience.
“Everyone says it’s a barometer. No, it’s not. It’s the next game.
“All the papers are saying it’s huge test for us because they are Premiership. We had a test against St Mirren; against Hibs; going to Alloa on their surface was a test; Queen of the South on a different surface was a test; Dumbarton was a test because of the one stand.
“We have shown we can deal with challenges. This is the next challenge. There will be a number of challenges this season. Going to Dumbarton in January will be a challenge. We have to deal with all these challenges.”
Warburton certainly does not view the visit of Tommy Wright’s side as anything to fear.
“If you look at Kenny Miller, Lee Wallace, Dean Shiels, they have been there and done it,” he said. “The English contingent have played against bigger clubs many many times, so they have no doubt about their abilities. We have players from Arsenal and Tottenham.
“So with the greatest of respect we are not fearful of anything, we are just looking forward to the next game at Ibrox.”
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