Gers boss is wary of SPFL challengers
MARK WARBURTON is adamant the battle for the SPFL Premiership title is not a two-horse race.
The bookies have Celtic as odds-on favourites to retain the championship, with Rangers offered at 7-2.
Aberdeen and Hearts are being written off as also-rans but not by the Ibrox manager.
Warburton said: “There’s a threat posed by other teams and to say it’s just about Rangers and Celtic is nonsensical.
“In people like Derek McInnes, Robbie Neilson, Tommy Wright and others, there are some very talented managers. It’s a very tough division.
“It was the same when I worked in the English Championship. There were no givens in there either. Every week, top can beat bottom and vice versa.
“If you don’t prepare well, if you go into a game without analysis, without recognising what you have to do, I think you will get hurt.”
Although Rangers will be facing a better quality of player this season, there will be no change in their style of play.
Warburton believes that forcing opponents to alter their style is worth a goal of a start for the Light Blues. He said: “Why would we change? “I said before to David Weir when we were down south that we would play teams who played 4-4-2 for 15 games in a row and then, because we were 4-3-3, they would change to face us.
“I thought we were already 1-0 up if teams were suddenly going to change their formation.
“If we suddenly go 3-5-2 now to match another team, then what does that tell you?
“We have to have a belief in what we do, recognise our strengths and understand where we have areas or moments of weakness.
“We are never going to change the way we play football.”
Warburton looks likely to try and recruit a goal poacher for his squad and that could come in the form of a loan signing.
He went on: “I think we have recruited well in terms of permanent signings so if the right loan became available we will make a move.”