Mark Warburton says he will have to settle for another loan Ranger after admitting there is currently no catching big-spending Celtic.

The Gers boss has already signed Bournemouth's Emerson Hyndman and Arsenal youngster Jon Toral this month on loan deals to the end of the season.

And he confessed if he does add any further bodies to help the Light Blues in their fight against Aberdeen for the Ladbrokes Premiership's runners-up spot, it will likely be another temporary switch.

That is in stark contrast to the situation at Parkhead, where his Old Firm counterpart Brendan Rodgers has already kicked off his preparations for next season's assault on the Champions League qualifiers by signing up £2.8million Ivorian anchorman Kouassi Eboue.

But Warburton is wary of rocketing prices at this time of year.

Asked if he would have to resort to more loan moves, Warburton admitted: "Probably. Right now it makes sense for us. January is notoriously difficult.

"If you are the buyer, you end up paying inflated fees because the sellers don't want to lose their best players at this time of year.

"So January can end up becoming very expensive if you overspend on players and don't get the value you have to see.

"If we can bring in anybody else, we will do - but it depends if they right player becomes available at the right price for the club.

"It has to be somebody adding something we don't currently possess."

Rangers have long since given up hope of halting Celtic's bid for a sixth straight league title.

But Warburton admits it may be a while before the club can hope to challenge the Hoops as they continue to suffer the fall-out of the financial meltdown.

"Of course we plan for the summer and we'll see what becomes available," said the Englishman, whose side sit a massive 19 points behind Rodgers' men. "But we can't compare ourselves [with Celtic] at the moment in terms of finance.

"We're not going to spend recklessly. What we have to do is move at a pace which is right for Rangers.

"We have to move as shrewdly and as astutely as we can and when the club can gain success and the income improves, we can move forward from there."

Meanwhile, Warburton admits he has sympathy for out-of-favour frontman Michael O'Halloran.

The former St Johnstone forward has struggled to make an impact since joining Gers in a £500,000 switch 12 months ago.

And reports this week suggest Hearts are leading a pack of four top-flight clubs looking to strike a short-term loan deal for the 26-year-old.

But Warburton insists he has yet to hear from the Jambos and confirmed O'Halloran is part of his Light Blues squad preparing for Saturday's William Hill Scottish Cup clash with Motherwell at Ibrox.

However, he did concede the former Bolton flyer - who has made just five league starts this term - needs the chance to play after becoming frustrated by his lack of action.

He said: "I've read some bizarre stories that Michael is off to Hearts.

"I'm sure Ian Cathro would have called me [if he was interested]. He, I'm sure, knew nothing about it and neither do I.

"It is just one of many stories where players are linked with [moves], where players are going out.

"Until the window closes, you are never sure.

"From our point of view, Michael is one of our players and will be involved on Saturday.

"Michael is one of many players who wants to play. He needs games. It's the life of a manager that players will be banging on the door if they don't get enough pitch time.

"I can understand their frustration. Players want to play. My job is to be honest with them, to keep communicating with them and work with them every day on the training pitch. Hopefully they get their chance and are in a position to take it."