MARK WARBURTON has made it clear that he is itching to sign a deal to start work on his next project as Rangers move closer to a decision on their managerial position.

The 52-year-old Londoner remains the bookmakers' favourite to take over the reins at Ibrox, but he has also been targeted by Skybet Championship club Fulham and has always been open about the fact he has been talking to more than one club since leaving Brentford at the end of the season.

Warburton insists that having time to construct a squad and being with them throughout the entirety of pre-season is absolutely crucial for any coach and is evidently looking to have his future sorted out sooner rather than later.

"A lot of people say to you that you should take three or four months out, but that is not my style," said Warburton, who will seek to take the former Rangers captain, David Weir, to his next club as his assistant manager.

"I like working, I like being busy and I like knowing what I am doing.

"My background is to get straight back into it. You want to keep learning, keep pushing forward and see how good you can be. It is important to do what you think is right.

"This is the most important time of year. Pre-season is vitally important and it is a time when coaches and managers can bond with the players and get their ideas across.

"You have actually got time to work with them. That is the key thing. Later in the year, it is very much reactive. This is the ideal time now and it is important for clubs to get their choice in situ sooner rather than later.

"You have to respect that clubs will make decisions by their timetable, but, last season, we had a really good season (at Brentford) because we had a good pre-season."

Stuart McCall remains a contender for the manager's job at Rangers despite failing to guide the club through the end-of-season play-offs and Warburton refuses to go into detail over what he would do at Ibrox out of respect to him.

"Nothing disrespectful has been done on my part or David Weir's part," he said.

"I have had informal chats with a couple of clubs," he said. "If all goes well, they will go forward from there."

Warburton has also claimed that he has no demands over the level of football in which he manages next, whether that be the SPFL Championship or the second tier of the English game.

"I don't think anyone is in a position to demand a level," he stated. "You have to look at a club and hope the parties have chemistry. Do you get on and do the philosophies align?

"If that all fits into place, you are in a good place."

Dave King, the Rangers chairman, has made it clear that any rebuilding job at Ibrox will have to be done within a budget and Warburton is determined to build his next team around younger players and a streamlined squad.

"I don't want to come across as arrogant, but I hope very much that the way we played at Brentford last season tells you a lot about Davie and me," he said. "People refer to playing the game the right way. That is nonsense.

"It is about playing the game your way. If you win trophies by being very long and direct, so be it, but I like to have players who can dominate a football, are comfortable in possession and enjoy being in possession.

"I strongly believe in youth. I really believe that you can get young, hungry players who can embrace ideas and you marshal them with one or two senior pros who can really mentor them. That is a nice balance.

"I am also a big believer in smaller squads. I think Brentford used the least number of players, 24, over the course of the season. I think that tells you that you can keep a squad lean and hungry."