Go-kart brawl and SAS kidnap - when team bonding goes wrong

Ah, team bonding. An opportunity to knit a diverse squad of footballers closer together and strengthen relationships, a strategy often used in periods of adversity.

"I ended up fighting with Craig Gordon at go-karting!" former Heart of Midlothian player and manager Robbie Neilson recalls on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"He threw his helmet at me, I threw a punch, he threw a punch and then we all started fighting."

For under-pressure Russell Martin's sake, let us hope he had a better experience when he took his Rangers team for a dip in Loch Lomond this week.

"It seems to get publicised more when you are going through a difficult period," Neilson adds.

"Doing it is something to be commended. Sometimes you just need to try something a little bit different."

Gary Caldwell's version of team bonding when Partick Thistle boss in 2018 was a little bit more extreme than some cold water therapy in a beautiful loch.

The team were second bottom of the Scottish Championship and their grim start to the season had ended Alan Archibald's tenure.

He was replaced by Caldwell, who had failed to win any of his first five matches - so he called in some help from the SAS.

Former Thistle striker Kris Doolan said "guys with masks rag-dolled" the players and had them "bouncing off walls in total darkness".

One player ran off into the hills and was dragged back by four soldiers. Another broke down in tears.

Thistle ended the season safe in sixth place in the second tier. Perhaps it was a success?

Ex-Hearts defender Neilson's tale of scrapping with goalkeeper Gordon after some foul play at go-karting seems quite vanilla in comparison.

"I cut him up to be honest with you, I put him into the barriers," says Neilson. "He got out and I saw him coming towards me, and as we know he's a big lad.

"He took his helmet off, threw it at me and I thought I've got to do something here. So I threw a punch, he threw a punch and it was a kind of ruckus from there.

"Then it died down, but it was a good laugh at the end of it."

A club source described Rangers' trip to Loch Lomond as "a change of scenery - a reset and some team bonding".

That seemed a wise idea after the toxic scenes Martin and his players had to endure following their abject home to defeat by Hearts.

"A lot of the time it's to try to get a togetherness within the group and take the pressure away outside the usual environment," says Neilson.

The weekend loss meant the Ibrox side had made their worst start to a league campaign after five games in almost half a century.

That only intensified the fan fury Martin is facing, but reports after the game suggest the Rangers board will stick by him - for now.

The former Scotland defender is in sink or swim territory, with a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final to come against Hibernian this weekend.

We will get a good idea of how beneficial an open water swimming session has been for the team's togetherness at Ibrox on Saturday evening.

"When you go away for these things, you try to get people to mingle a little bit more and get some connections," Neilson adds.

"It just takes a wee bit of pressure off and it takes away the thought of football all the time."