Wednesday 29 March 2017 21:32, UK
Andy Halliday has been impressed with new Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha but also paid tribute to “fantastic” former boss Mark Warburton.
The Englishman left the club in acrimonious circumstances in February, with Rangers chairman Dave King recently accusing Nottingham Forest and Warburton of engineering the manager's move away from Ibrox after he was appointed at the City Ground earlier this month.
Forest have since refuted any wrong-doing in his appointment and, while Halliday admits the Rangers players were a bit unsure on the details surrounding his departure, the midfielder praised Warburton.
"I will take this time to obviously praise Mark because I've not had a chance myself personally to talk about it but clearly we had some unconvincing performances, some inconsistent results and the previous manager left in uncertain circumstances," he said.
"The players never really knew what was happening and I'd like to just take this time to say Mark did a fantastic job. He came in and he got us all together."
Halliday has been sidelined by a hamstring injury in recent weeks but has still been hugely impressed by Caixinha, who was appointed earlier this month, and pointed to their 4-0 win over Hamilton in the Portuguese's first match in charge as a sign that the players have taken to the new boss.
Caixinha has been working with the majority of the Rangers squad over the international break in a bid to learn more about his players and has even cancelled their usual day off as he looks to stamp his authority on the team.
Asked what has changed under Caixinha, Halliday joked: "Our days off - they're not there anymore. It's really enjoyable, the training has been excellent so far. He's got his own ideas and demands a certain standard and intensity, it is certainly refreshing for us.
"Thankfully we got off to a really positive start and a convincing victory last week, long may that continue. Obviously it's a positive thing when a new manager comes in, it's a clean slate and everyone is playing for their future.
"He's got his own ideas to bring in his own players he's worked with before, it's up to us. In my opinion the only way is down once you leave this football club so it's up to us to try and stay here and fight for our place.
"I think the boys have adapted to [Caixinha's appointment] really well. You have seen that, he has got his own ideas, his own philosophy and you never know how that is going to play out in the first couple of games. It might take the boys a bit of time to adapt but you saw the performance against Hamilton last week, the boys took to it really well."
