MARK WARBURTON and his backroom team at Rangers are in the process of visiting a number of the most powerful sides in the Barclays Premier League to sell their club as the perfect destination for loan players for next season.

The Ibrox manager has already brought Dominic Ball from Tottenham Hotspur and Gedion Zelalem from Arsenal on temporary arrangements and was back touching base with both clubs earlier this week over a range of matters as he addresses the issue of strengthening his squad.

Warburton has revealed that his head of recruitment, Frank McParland, and assistant manager, David Weir, are also talking to other prominent sides including Manchester City in an attempt to forge relationships that will be mutually beneficial should Rangers win promotion to the Ladbrokes Premiership.

“Frank does it from his recruitment point of view and through his contact base, which is really extensive,” explained Warburton.

“David and I will go into Everton, Liverpool or Manchester City. We know the guys at City really well.

“If I’m back home, I go into to Tottenham or Arsenal. They are tremendous clubs and we can learn so much from them.

“If we can strengthen those relationships, we will be in a good place.

“I was at Spurs this week and speaking with Arsenal. They know what is expected up here.

“We look at players we think can add value and who we can help in terms of their development, but there are a number of clubs going for the same players, so we have to try and sell Rangers.

“Sometimes, it is a sales pitch. We can show them our performances in the league, we can compile video to show them what we are about, show them the environment at Murray Park and how it can work for them.

“If you are at Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea or any big club, you want your first-team players to play in front of 40, 50 or 60,000 people.

“I don’t think there are many other loan moves in the world which can replicate that type of playing experience. That’s a real plus for us.

“The gap (between England and Scotland) is getting wider and we have to recognise it.

“They will plunder the best Scottish players because that’s where the value is, but you are far better working with them than against them.”

Warburton first gained access to football’s top table when arranging a Europe-wide competition for the Under-19 teams belonging to the game’s most notable academies and still calls on those relationships today.

“I’m very fortunate that the NextGen tournament was good for that,” he said. “We worked with Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton and Aston Villa.

“Football is like any other industry where personnel changes, but I hope they know how we work, what we want from a player and how we will look after their players.”

Warburton takes his Rangers side to Falkirk tomorrow evening in the knowledge that victory would extend their lead over their hosts to 17 points, having played a game less. He insists, however, that the Bairns’ overall performances this term have shaped his view on which coach he would nominate as Manager of the Year.

“My immediate response is that, if I look in my division, I would say Peter Houston,” said Warburton.

“There was talk in November that Falkirk wouldn’t sustain it, in December that they would fall away, it was a surprise they were still there in January.

“Here we are in March. They have done a fantastic job and they are right in the mix.”

Warburton also believes Falkirk have offered clear proof that they would be capable of performing in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

“They are showing it,” he said. “People said that about Leicester City - that they’ll never win it and they’ll fall away.

“The players are hungry and they are working for the management and the staff, so they are in a good place.”

Rangers lost 2-1 at Falkirk in December. Hard on the heels of two draws against Livingston and Morton, Warburton admits that match caused him to review his side’s attacking instincts and led to the defensive discipline which has seen Rangers lose just five goals in their last 15 fixtures.

“We studied that game, looked at our shape and discipline and we got a good run together.

“In that period against Livingston and Morton, we were getting too aggressive.

“I think sometimes players get impatient when there are eight, nine, 10 behind the ball. You can lose your shape and if you go five, eight, ten yards too far, you can get caught and exposed. We were caught a couple of times, but I think we learned from that.”

Warburton has also hailed the fitness levels of his players as they close in on the Ladbrokes Championship title.

“We looked at the stats of Jason Holt and Barrie McKay in the last couple of games and they were covering 14 kilometres plus,” he said. “These are big, big numbers. A 14km stat is up there with the English Premier League.

“When players are delivering those stats in late March, it tells you that you are on track.”