Rangers '˜don't need to spend big to compete with Celtic'

Mark Warburton believes Rangers can find value in the market. Picture: John Devlin

While Brendan Rodgers last week paid an initial fee of £3million to lure Scott Sinclair to Parkhead, Gers have so far kept their spending to a minimum.

Of the nine players who have checked into Ibrox this summer, Warburton has only had to pay small compensation sums to land Josh Windass, Matt Crooks, Jordan Rossiter and Joe Dodoo while others such as Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar have arrived for free.

But Warburton - who hinted he could complete his hunt for a new defender and striker within days - reckons his transfer activity does not mean Rangers are planning a Ladbrokes Premiership title challenge on the cheap.

Asked if the club was prepared to match Celtic in the spending stakes, he said: “We’ll never talk about specific budgetary amounts but from our point of view we have got to add value.

“With where the club has been the last four or five years I think it’s imperative we get value. What that value is is the big question.

“But I look at Joe Dodoo, Jordan Rossiter, Joey Barton - who would have been in the Premier League with Burnley had he not come here - and that is us getting value.

“It’s not about how much you spend, it’s how you spend the money you have got. It’s not always about the big sums. Sometimes the best business is done for small fees.

“I look at Andre Gray who is now minimum a £25million to £30million player. He was half a million quid two years ago, so it’s not always the amount you spend that is important.

“It’s about having an eye for a player, how you value a player and making the right move at the right time and if you can do that you’ll reap the rewards.”

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