MARK WARBURTON has claimed he fully trusts Dave King to provide him with the money needed to take Rangers forward but insisted that the club won’t pay over the odds for anyone even if the funds are available.

The Rangers manager, somewhat bizarrely, also insisted he had landed ever signing target so far, despite losing Scott Allan to Celtic and just this month Toumani Diagourga to Leeds United. St Johnstone have also knocked back a bid for Michael O’Halloran.

King is in Glasgow and set to meet the Rangers board today and signings, with only days left of the window, have to be a priority.

Warburton insisted he had only ever wanted “one or two” new arrivals this month, which goes against more than one statement made by King who in the past spoke about signing multiple players in January who were good enough to play in Europe.

Rangers yesterday did take Billy King on loan from Hearts until the end of this season – Harry Forrester and goalkeeper Maciej Gostomski signed on permanent deals - but good player that he is, this is hardly the standard the owner has previously boasted about.

Asked whether he trusted King to deliver on his promises, Warburton said: “Yes, of course. I haven’t lost a player I’ve asked for yet. If I had gone for five in the summer, got three, lost two and been arguing about others then I could understand where you are coming from.

“But I wanted Foderingham, Kiernan, Tavernier, Waghorn, Halliday and Holt. I got them. If we think a player is worth a certain figure then fine, if his club thinks otherwise then no problem. There was no issue there, the selling club has a right to put a price on it.

“The chairman is over here. I have met with him and gone through it. It’s about strong foundations. We said that from the outset. We can’t look for short-term fixes. If we do that, we are on a slippery slope.

"It’s about having a strong, hungry squad. Look at the roles of Kenny Miller, Lee Wallace and Dean Shiels. These players have a massive influence over what is a really young squad.”

And on the subject of how many players Warburton wanted this month specifically, he added: “With respect, what have I said all along? I’ve never said four or five players in January. It’s one or two. Four or five before next season, absolutely. Maybe five or six.

“The chairman is being supportive and has given comments. But I have never changed my story. I hope very much that people see how we do our business and the type of development potential we are looking to attract to the club.

“Yes, you need some seniority now and again. But we are in a good place. When you say about fans’ frustration, we are five points clear at the top and the boys have done very well. So I’d hate to be three points behind.”

Hibernian have strengthened and while King the player is a talent, so far January has been a better month for the men from Edinburgh. O’Halloran is wanted by Rangers who have not met St Johnstone’s asking price.

But if the money is there, why not pay over the odds, without being silly, on a player who could make a difference this season and potentially prove to good enough to cope with Europe?

“Think about the house scenario,” said Warburton. “If the house is worth £200,000 and they want £250,000 you are not going to pay it. You’ve got another £100,000 in the bank and you could go to £300,000, but you won’t do it. Why? Because if you do then the next deal you do they’ll go a little bit more again.

“Right now this is how we do our business. We have a valuation of player which we think is fair and if you don’t want to do it then no problem.

“You can’t show your hand. What we’ve been good at in the past is to bring in young players who we think represent good value. We did it in the summer. I’m not saying that in an arrogant way.”

The big question is, and has been for some time, is whether the money is actually available for Warburton to be seriously active in the transfer market.

“That’s just negativity,” said the Rangers manager who was adamant the club were “close” to getting deals done, although this was before the move for King was revealed.

“If we were eight points behind, fourth in the league and hadn’t signed anyone, then we’d have an issue. But the fact is we are five points clear, in a cup final and have another cup match next weekend against Kilmarnock. We are in a good place.

“So if we don’t sign anyone are we suddenly a bad squad? Are we suddenly weaker than everyone else? Every time you buy a player it is a risk. Will he fit into the dressing room? Will he adapt to the surroundings and training methods Bringing a player in doesn’t guarantee success. It guarantees a problem making sure he fits into your dressing room.”