MARK WARBURTON has not thus far laid down solid foundations in Glasgow because he is still unsure whether he will be at Rangers for the long-term.

His reasons for not yet buying a house in or around the city are that his family, plus animals, remains in deepest down south, so busy is he that he wouldn’t see much of them anyway if they did move and, this was seemingly the most important thing, he has no idea whether he will do well enough to hang about foe a few more years.

The last point is an intriguing one. Warburton is clearly doing more than well and enjoys huge popularity among the supporters. So why go down the road of such self-deprecation.

Warburton was speaking on Wednesday about the players' commitment to Rangers when he said: "The fact they are buying properties here is really significant for us. It’s because they feel part of something. They are moving families up, committing to buying properties, getting their kids into schools, that’s really important for us."

Which left him open to answering the question; why he has not yet bought a house up here? And is he,going to do so after the end of this season.

"Absolutely - but, when you have a family and you have building work, and you have animals and everything else, there is a domestic life to be considered," he said. "So I could turn around and say yeah I’m buying a house. But who is looking after my dogs?

"We’ve got a job to do and, right now, I’ve got to commit to it. If I buy a house up here and my wife never sees me, she might as well be lonely down south. So I’ve got to make sure I can do the job here.

"It’s only eight months into a big job here – and I’ve got to make sure I’m good enough to do the job. If I am, and we achieve our target, you know what I’m going to do. I’ll join the local golf club, for sure. If I can get in. But right now it’s not about that. It’s about getting used to the city.

‘Last night I was at the under-20s game and didn’t get home until half nine. You don’t see your family.

"So, if I’m going to move my family up here, I’ve got to be absolutely that I can do the job, I’ve done the job – and I can keep on growing into it.

"So there is no lack of commitment. The lack of commitment would be if I was off playing golf, missing games or whatever.

"The commitment side is making sure the family can move up lock, stock and barrel.That’s important. They might as well be lonely in a place they know, with their family nearby."

Gordon Strachan kept his family home in Southampton during his four years with Celtic, so it's not as if being a renter necessarily means the person in question expects to do a runner at the drop of a hat.

So that's not a problem. What is, if Warburton is to be taken at face vale, he does take into consideration that not many in his game stay in the job for any length of time.

"I’ve got a job to do and this is a harsh world," he said. "Last year at Brentford, there was a stage where I was the fifth longest serving manager. Ludicrous.

"I think it was eight months and two weeks for the average tenure of a Championship manager. Outrageous. So, for me, I know the job I want to do – I know what we want to achieve at Rangers - and it is a big job."

Warburton is admired in England and it's plain daft to think that there isn't at least one chairman in the Championship who believes he can save him from the wretched backwater that is Scottish football.

However, plans are being hatched for pre-season and next season, so there is no reason, at the moment, to think that he won't be around for a while yet.

"I’m sitting here right now having planned our pre-season, confirming our games, what we’re going to do, looking at players, which is great," said Warburton. "Very naturally, as you achieve something, you can say: 'Great, now I know what I can do here. I can do this job and grow into it.'

‘It’s not about is Mark Warburton going to stay at Rangers. Do Rangers want him? It works both ways with football clubs. Everyone thinks it’s about managers walking away.

‘It’s not. They have to do their job – and club like this here won’t accept us coming third in the Championship. That doesn’t work. An achievement would be the title. Our job, very clear, is to win the Championship. Anything else is a bonus.

"I know what I can do. We’re in good shape, making positive changes, I think. We’ve brought in good people on the playing side and non-playing side. So far, so good. But we haven’t won anything yet."