Mark Warburton admits to expectation worries while in charge of Rangers

Mark Warburton while in charge of Rangers.

The Englishman won promotion with Rangers from the Championship and was immediately tasked with challenging Celtic for the Premiership title, but the current QPR boss didn't believe it was possible.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "I was worried about the expectation. I knew we would not be in a position immediately to challenge.

"Look, Celtic went on to sign (Moussa) Dembele. Serious money - agency fee, big wages, big sign-on, chunk of transfer as a goodbye present.

"I was thinking: 'We haven't got the money to go against them. Our budget is still very, very low.

"Lying in bed that night, I knew we had to address those expectations.

"Yes, we had to enjoy the moment but we had to be reasonable.

"It's not about lacking ambition, it's not about not understanding the size of Rangers or what the club is about. I am not a fool. I got a lot of abuse about not getting it. I got it. Of course, I know how big the club is. But I also know football. We are going to smash Celtic? Financial logic tells you that is not on."

Warburton has also admitted he was wrong to have reservations about Billy Gilmour while he was at the club, revealing that he had concerns about the hot prospect's size. He said: "The staff wanted to play Billy Gilmour in a match against what was a Dundee reserve side with several first-team players in it.

"I thought there was a health and safety issue because he was so small playing against these men. I could only see his size. But Billy played and he was the best on the park by a mile.

"So I learned that there were things you had to ask yourself. Do you understand what you are looking at? Do you understand what it makes to be a class player? Do you understand what it takes to improve a player?

"It changed me. You work with a player every single day and become entrenched in your views. It is very hard to shake off that first impression but you have to."