Alex McLeish firmly believes Rangers will benefit next season from their busy summer schedule.
The Scottish club are set to begin their 2017-18 campaign later this month when the face-off in the Europa League first qualifying round, although their opponent has yet to be confirmed.
Their swift return to action, which comes less than a month after their final fixture of the previous campaign, has seen the first-team squad back in training over the past two weeks, as Pedro Caixinha gets his side up to shape.
However, while there will be doubts as to whether the Rangers players can weather the storm in terms of the number of fixtures they might have to play, former Ibrox favourite McLeish believes they’ll cope just fine.
He told the Evening Times: “Of course it can help and the sooner the players start to bed the better. The more training they do and the more games they play, the quicker the progress will be.
“The work that Pedro can do before the season will help them get ready and there is nothing like playing games.
“You need minutes under your belt to get into that rhythm and get that telepathy with the rest of your team-mates.”
Caixinha also has no fewer than five new signings to integrate into the first-team setup in quick time, having moved to complete the bulk of his transfer business at the earliest opportunity.
The Portuguese has raided his home nation for three new players, Dalcio, Fabio Cardoso and Daniel Candeias, while Bruno Alves and Ryan Jack have also arrived from top-flight opposition.
Rangers are closing in on several more new recruits, but it remains to be seen if he will have them signed-off in time to feature during their opening European tie.
Scottish rivals Celtic are also set to be in action early this summer, in the Champions League qualifying stages, and the two sides will be expected to compete for the Scottish Premiership title next term.