Rangers manager Mark Warburton wants Hampden as venue for cup final
ByPA Sport Report
Published 28/11/2015 at 15:18 GMT
Rangers boss Mark Warburton has called for the Petrofac Training Cup final to be staged at Hampden after watching his side cruise past semi-final opponents St Mirren 4-0.
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Gers will take on Peterhead in the final on April 10, and a venue has yet to be announced.
The last time the Ibrox men reached the climax of the lower-league cup competition in 2013, the match took place at the 20,000 capacity Easter Road.
But Warburton reckons his club could pack out the national stadium and its 52,000 seats.
Asked if he felt the match should be staged at Hampden, the Englishman said: "I hope so. That's what I've been told and I hope that's the case.
"Rangers will send a very strong support (to Hampden) and we would look forward to that type of challenge."
Warburton's team booked their place in the final with goals from Jason Holt, Kenny Miller, Martyn Waghorn and Sean Kelly's stoppage-time own goal.
They dominated the first half but only had Holt's effort - teed up when Andy Halliday spotted a massive gap in the Buddies' defence - after 34 minutes to show for their efforts at the break.
But the Light Blues were far from slick after the second half and were lucky not to be pegged back when Stuart Carswell rattled the crossbar after 68 minutes.
However, they were spared embarrassment when Miller tapped home on 77 minutes from a Waghorn cross, and the Englishman rifled home the third with six minutes left.
Kelly's late mistake added a gloss to the scoreline and Warburton admitted his side were not at their best.
He said: "I thought in the first half we were good, really good, but I think we should have come in more than 1-0 at half-time. It should have been more.
"We created a lot of chances, moved the ball and dominated possession but didn't get all our rewards.
"The second half we weren't quite as good and had a 15-minute spell where we were sloppy and gave the ball away.
"However, I was pleased at the end. We worked St Mirren, got the openings and got the goals."
Saints have won just one of their last 10 league games and boss Ian Murray acknowledged his side were poor again.
"Rangers dominated the first 45 and we were delighted with the scoreline at half-time," he said. "It could have been a lot more.
"We did much better in the second half but our quality on the ball in the first half was as bad as it's been all season. Some of our good players couldn't trap a ball or pass it literally five yards."
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