Mark Warburton keeps Rangers title talk in check

Rangers manager Mark Warburton has spent his three months at the Ibrox club building up all those within it. Ahead of today’s visit by Falkirk, the Englishman admitted he had to slap one of them down.

Rangers manager Mark Warburton. Picture: SNS

A victory for the runaway Championship leaders against their second-placed opponents this afternoon would do more than complete a faultless first quarter of the league campaign. For many it would mean the title being wrapped already.

Warburton, though, did not much care for someone in Murray Park this week offering up such an assessment .

“Someone said upstairs that if you win on Saturday you’ve won the league. That’s absolute nonsense. Complacency is the biggest weapon against us,” said Warburton. “It’s a big game because they are the nearest team to us so we want a big performance, but the biggest danger to us is us and that’s not being arrogant.

“If we just focus on putting on a good performance we can be 11 or 12 points clear with Falkirk and Hibs to play each other. That is a good position. But we must retain our focus.”

The revelation that Rangers have yet to score with a header despite bagging 45 goals across their 13 games this season is compelling evidence as to the different proposition they have become under Warburton.

Nicky Clark has witnessed this transition close up and the striker believes Rangers’ renouncing of route one in favour of much more aesthetically pleasing passing approach under Warburton should be celebrated.

“It shows you we’re playing everything to feet and it’s brilliant to be involved in.” the 24-year-old said of the no headers stat. “You can see everyone is enjoying it, the way we’re playing and everyone wants to pick up the ball and become involved in it. From the first day under the manager his don’t lump it long philosophy has been in place so it is bred into us now.”