SUCCESSFULLY negotiating the awkward William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round game against part-time Cowdenbeath at ramshackle Central Park on Wednesday night is important to Rangers’ hopes of lifting silverware this season.

But what happens the following night in the final hours of the January transfer window will be of far greater significance to the Ibrox club going forward.

Retaining the services of Alfredo Morelos, their leading goalscorer, and James Tavernier, their right back and captain, for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign is vital for manager Steven Gerrard.

With Gerrard’s side challenging strongly for the Ladbrokes Premiership title – and the Champions League qualifying spot that comes with it – this term there is no desire among the board to cash in on the Colombian striker or the English defender just now.

Losing either player would, regardless of the arrival of both Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe on loan this month, be hugely detrimental to their chances of winning the Premiership, earning a crack at Europe’s premier club competition and lifting the Scottish Cup.

Even their prospects of finishing in the top three and getting back into the Europa League, a far more realistic objective given the superior quality, strength in depth and spending power of their city rival Celtic, would be compromised by offloading Morelos or Tavernier this week.

With a place in the Champions League group stages potentially worth in excess of £40 million to the Scottish champions and a spot in the Europa League worth over £5 million, cashing in on their prized assets now would be a false economy.

Nevertheless, if a significant bid came in for Morelos from a club in the Premier League in England, where the forward has openly admitted he has ambitions to play in the future, or abroad then Rangers would be faced with a quandary.

The same goes for former Newcastle United man Tavernier who both Brighton and Southampton have been linked with in recent months.

Gerrard described the £8 million that French club Nice were preparing to offer for his first choice centre forward as “disrespectful” last week while Chinese outfit Beijing Renhe reportedly had an a bid of £11 million turned down around this time last year.

Still, the Liverpool and England great has been around long enough to understand how the game works. He has conceded in the past that all of his charges can be bought if their suitors match his valuation. “Every single one of my players is for sale,” he said back in October. “They have all got a price.”

If an offer of £12 million was to be forthcoming for Morelos this week the Rangers directors would have a difficult decision to make. If a bid in the region of £15 million was received it is hard to see how they could resist.

READ MORE: Rangers director warns loss-making club cannot run on loans indefinitely

It may seem unlikely considering that Celtic striker Moussa Dembele - who had, unlike Morelos, a proven track record at the highest level on the continent as well as domestically - went to Lyon in France for £20 million on the final day of the summer transfer window.

But in the madcap world of English football, where Dominic Solanke can be sold from Liverpool to Bournemouth for £20 million despite scoring just one goal in nearly three years, nothing is impossible.

The £14.3 million pre-tax losses the Glasgow club announced back back in October led to widespread predictions of impending financial Armageddon from the gleeful supporters of their rivals.

The admission last week from John Bennett, the chairman of the independent directors, that Rangers directors and shareholders couldn’t continue to offset losses with soft loans indefinitely was also seen as ominous by many.

Yet, Dave King, the chairman and major shareholder, admitted as much at the first AGM he presided over back in 2015. The South Africa-based financier and his associates have once again agreed to cover the projected shortfall going forward.

Their dire financial results, a consequence of their ill-fated £3 million payment to Sports Direct and their rash and expensive recruitment drive under former manager Pedro Caixinha, were clearly a cause for concern.

But the Rangers hierarchy recognise there is more to be gained from holding onto their key personnel in the coming months than allowing them to leave at the moment. The summer may be an entirely different story. But for the time being everyone at Ibrox is keen for the squad to remain intact.

That said, ultimately money talks.

Steven Gerrard will be a mightily relieved man if he is still able to call on the services of Alfredo Morelos and James Tavernier after midnight on Thursday.