HAVING been involved in no fewer than 34 games in all competitions, including their outstanding Europa League last 16 match from last season, since football resumed in this country back in August, the Rangers players would benefit from a little down time this month.

Yet, with the winter shutdown cancelled this year as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, James Tavernier and his team mates will have to continue.

Celtic, beaten 1-0 at Ibrox in the Premiership on Saturday, have moved their game against Hibernian at Parkhead to next Monday to allow them jet off to Dubai for a few days.

Another league match against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday, not a well-earned week off and warm weather training break, awaits the runaway leaders.

Tavernier, though, has no concerns about Steven Gerrard’s side being able to maintain their high performance levels and avoid another collapse in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.

The right back and captain, who has, along with Conor Goldson, featured in every competitive outing this term, believes the Glasgow club have the best sports science staff in the Scottish game.

The 29-year-old is confident they can help Rangers cope with the hectic schedule of Premiership, Scottish Cup and Europa League fixtures that lie ahead in the coming weeks and is looking forward to remaining active.

“The sports science department is one of the best I’ve seen since I’ve been involved in football,” said Tavernier. “We’ve got a department that works really well together and pushes the boys when it’s needed during the week.

“If you need rest or a gym session, they’re always on it. Recovery-wise, they’re always on it. You can see the facilities at the training ground too. We’ve got the cryo [chamber] for recovery. That department is second to none.

“Nothing has changed since the start of the season. Our intensity in training, and the intensity in how we’re playing, is the same. If you keep doing the right things, it continues to show. That’s what we’ve been doing and that’s what we have to keep doing. That’s our main focus for the second part of the season.

“In terms of mentality, I’m in a great place, the team is in a great place and we’ve just got to keep this momentum going. We’ve had a great first half to the season and we’ve just got to keep that going.

“The winter break has obviously been cancelled, but it means we can carry on playing games. Watching what’s going on down south, all the games, you just want to play football. We’re happy and we’ve just got to deal with what’s been laid out in front of us.

“You want to play big games, but the mentality this season is that every game is a massive game. The game against St Mirren last midweek was a massive game. We treat every single game as a cup final no matter who is on the other side of the pitch.

“We approach it right, we train right through the week. When you see all these fixtures coming up, you’re rubbing your hands and you can’t wait to play. The boys are raring to go and to try to keep it going.”

Tavernier feels that Rangers, who are 19 points clear at the top of the Premiership table and in the last 32 of the Europa League, have done well in the first half of the season as a result of the extensive preparation they did in the summer as well as the impact made by their new signings.

“We got a really good pre-season, which we’ve not really had before,” he said. “We worked really hard on ourselves, our tactics and individual departments. That’s come together really well this season.

“The new additions who have come in have fitted in really well. There is so much competition for places now which is pushing the boys every single day to keep the jersey on their back when they get asked to be in the starting XI.

“If you look at the past couple of seasons, it’s been good [at this time of year], but we’re obviously in a better position in the table this time. We don’t really look at that – we’re just continuing to build on where we are now and trying to take the maximum points out of each game we go into.”

Tavernier has been linked with moves to Premier League clubs Bournemouth, Newcastle United and West Ham in recent seasons, but he will be unaffected if there is any speculation about his future during the January transfer window.

“Personally, when you’re happy and comfortable, you don’t tend to be on your phone every day looking at the transfer market,” he said.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I can imagine that if players are wanting to leave or trying to get more game time, they’ll be looking at the window.

“When it’s open, everyone will have a look at who is moving where, but personally I’m really enjoying my football and I’m concentrating on training as hard as I can and working really hard for the club.”