PAUL Murray, the Rangers director, has confirmed no limits have been placed on the amount of money Mark Warburton, who was unveiled as manager at Ibrox yesterday, will have to spend on players.

 

However, Murray has stressed the mistakes of previous regimes, who brought in new signings on exorbitant salaries they were subsequently unable to afford, would not be repeated in the future.

Warburton is facing a huge task to rebuild the first team squad in time for the start of the SPFL Championship at the beginning of August following the departure of 12 players at the end of last season.

But Murray has stressed the former Brentford coach, who has brought former Rangers captain Davie Weir in as his assistant, will be given funds to strengthen in time for the 2015/16 campaign.

"We are working with David and Mark to make the club competitive as quickly as possible," he said. "I know it may seem strange, but there is no budget. There is no upper limit and there is no lower limit. But we obviously have a rough idea of where we are.

"That is not to say that we are going to go and blow money and do some of the things we have done in the past. It will be a very careful and considerate process and we want to try and get value for money.

"There are no guarantees in football, but we are going to try and make good decisions. There is no point rushing into a bunch of contracts that we will then live to regret in two months time. We will look at the priorities and work on that starts today.

"We will assess the squad with Davie and Mark and then go and get those players. There is a lot of hard work to do but we are relaxed about the time we have got."

Meanwhile, Murray has praised Stuart McCall, who failed to land the job on a full-time basis after being unable to win promotion during his short spell as interim manager, for his professionalism and stressed he would always be welcome at Ibrox.

"I have been involved on the board of Rangers for a long time, but I have limited experience of dealing with football guys on a direct basis," he said. "But Stuart has been a joy to work with.

"Coming into this situation, he put his reputation on the line by joining for a few months with players who weren't his players. I think he really improved the team and the whole way of thinking.

"We came up short in the end, but these things can happen in football. There are thin margins. It wasn't a determining factor in Stuart not getting the job . It wasn't a case of him getting it if he got promotion and not getting it if he didn't.

"We just felt it was time a really fresh approach. I spoke to Stuart yesterday and he is just a great guy. The way he handled it was totally professional, with total class and he wished me well. I told him he's welcome back at the club any. He's just a really good guy."

Meanwhile, Weir, the former Rangers centre half and captain who spent five hugely successful years at the club he supported growing up before leaving in 2012, expressed his surprise at his return to Ibrox as he backed Warburton to be a success.

"Mark's got a wide array of skills," he said. "He has had a lot of different experiences both outwith football and in football. He has managed people, he has been a sporting director, he has worked in academies, he's been a first team manager. He's a good communicator, he's a good organiser and he's a good coach. So he's got a lot of good attributes.

"I have every confidence in Mark. I know that when he goes before people and speaks he is impressive because he talks a lot of sense and his track record is really good. Hopefully, as a partnership there are attributes that people want to work with.

"We have had opportunities to do other things and work in other places. But this is a club where the time is hopefully right for both sides. Hopefully, we can bring something here and the club can give us an opportunity to do what we like to do.

"The first priority is trying to get up. This season's goal is to try and win the league and that won't be easy because there are good teams in this league.

"We have certain challenges we need to address here. So the focus short-term is to try and win the league and get up. You know when you have been involved with Rangers that you are expected to win. I think the key focus is to get that right first."