KENNY MILLER last night insisted Rangers will still be able to launch a strong challenge for the Ladbrokes Championship with their existing squad even if they are unable to bring in Scott Allan from Hibs.
The Ibrox club, who had bids of £175,000 and £225,000 rejected by their Easter Road rivals last week, are preparing to table a third offer for the central midfielder who has impressed new manager Mark Warburton greatly.
However, Alan Stubbs, the Hibs manager, stressed the Championship player of the year is not for sale after his side lost 6-2 to Rangers at home in the first round of the Petrofac Training Cup on Saturday.
Miller, who came off the bench to score a double in that emphatic triumph, believes the squad Warburton has assembled since taking charge last month is good enough to win promotion to the top flight.
Andy Halliday, Jason Holt, James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn have all joined the second-tier outfit during the last nine days to take the total number of signings made by the former Brentford boss to nine.
No fewer than seven new players started for Rangers at the weekend in their opening competitive match of the 2015/16 campaign and Halliday, Tavernier and Waghorn all scored goals in a morale-boosting victory.
Warburton revealed at Murray park on Friday that he would like to bring in at least another two players, either on loan or in permanent deals, before the close of the summer transfer window at the end of next month.
Yet, Miller, who is in his third spell as a player with Rangers, has been greatly impressed with the new recruits and is unconcerned about whether Allan joins them in the coming weeks.
“Scott Allan is a Hibs player and it’s not up to me whether we sign him or don’t sign him,” he said. “But if you look throughout the squad, we pretty much have good competition for places all over the field: at the back, up front or through the midfield. We are all focused on moving onto next week.
“We want to win every game. The manager has come in and has made his mark. We don’t just want to win, we want to win with style. The result on Saturday suggests we did that, but we know in that dressing room we can be a lot better.
“We can improve. The manager has been in for four weeks and the lads who have come in got on the scoresheet – Waggy with a couple, Tavs and Andy. The new signings all scoring is a great thing. We are only in our infancy and we are only going to get better and stronger.”
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