Rangers fringe players shine to give Graeme Murty food for thought

Graeme Murty's Rangers side won their two Florida Cup fixtures

Rangers manager Graeme Murty says some of his fringe men have played their way into first-team contention during their mid-season trip to Florida.

The Ibrox outfit beat Brazilian sides Atletico Mineiro 1-0 and Corinthians 4-2 in their Florida Cup matches.

"I have more of an idea of what a headache I've got because I think everyone has brought something to the party here," Murty told RangersTV.

"Everyone who played added to the collective and that is what we want."

And he added: "We want more good players in the squad pushing and improving the people around them and challenging for places.

"If we get that, training will be better, games will be better and hopefully, if we react in a positive way, we can push ourselves to a higher place."

Former Celtic striker Colin Kazim Richards netted Corinthians' second goal

A Josh Windass strike sealed victory against Atletico Mineiro and on Saturday the Ibrox side produced an excellent second-half performance to beat Corinthians.

The Brazilian champions were 2-0 up at the break thanks to goals from Rodriguinho and former Celtic striker Colin Kazim Richards, but an Alfredo Morelos double and goals from Andy Halliday and James Tavernier won it for the Ibrox side.

Morelos was the stand-out, but Murty was delighted with a number of his players, including recent loan signings Jamie Murphy and Sean Goss.

"Alfredo is just a happy guy because he scores goals and we wanted to get that from him," Murty added. "I thought he was bright and he was lively, but I thought all the attacking players were.

"The two guys who gave him his goals, Murph had a really good combination with Danny Candeias and Sean Goss' delivery was really good.

"Overall, their general understanding, considering they haven't really played together a lot, was really good and really pleasing for me.

"The more we can train together, the better we are going to get and the more they are going to understand each other, so it becomes more fluid. Next week is going to be really good."

James Tavernier completed the scoring with Rangers' fourth goal

Murphy, who joined Rangers on loan from Brighton with a view to a permanent summer switch, insists the mid-season trip was a great introduction to the club.

"I enjoyed it," he told the Rangers website. "You know at Rangers that's what it's all about - the spirit and the fight, so it was good to get the win for the fans who have travelled over and came from all over the world.

"It's been terrific. Sometimes, when you go to a new team, you don't really get to know the boys for a couple of weeks because you only see them for a couple of hours a day.

"The fact that we've been away and we've all been together, I know has definitely helped me."