MIDFIELDER CONFIDENT RANGERS WILL KEEP CALM

From Back Page simplistic to suggest the results of the head-to-heads would decide which club booked the automatic Premiership place. ‘It will come down to who has the most consistency and we’ve had quite a lot of it this season,’ he added. ‘We just have to maintain that high standard and see what happens. But we are confident with the ability we have that there will be no problem.’ Stubbs’ claim that Rangers enjoyed a budget four times bigger than Hibs drew a rebuke from Warburton as the two managers continued their verbal sparring. ‘Stubbs has got every right to say that, but you can’t take away from the job the gaffer is doing,’ said Halliday. ‘Maybe our budget is bigger than certain teams but it is nowhere near as big as it has been in the past. ‘Our budget is never going to go down to the level of Alloa and clubs like that, but he has lowered it significantly. However, he’s also improved the results on the park, improved the training and improved the quality of the squad. ‘Stubbs has got his budget and he’s doing well at Hibs but it’s a completely different job, completely different demands, completely different aims and completely different goals.’ Asked if it was mind games on the part of the Hibs boss, Halliday added: ‘Maybe, but that’s part and parcel of being a manager. We saw Sir Alex Ferguson master that for many years at Manchester United, so it’s something we don’t really listen to.’ Meanwhile, Easter Road assistant John Doolan insists there is no festering bad blood between Warburton and Stubbs. Taking media duties yesterday, the Liverpudlian said: ‘It’s between the Rangers manager and our gaffer, so I’ll let those two crack on with it. But I don’t think there’s an issue between the two management teams from what I’ve seen. ‘After the recent game at Easter Road, we all sat in the room afterwards and everyone was fine. ‘There was a glass of wine shared. ‘We came in and shook hands and chatted about the game, just like we did at the start of the season in the Petrofac Cup tie. They were honest in their assessment of the game and we were honest in ours. ‘I don’t understand (the recent criticism of Stubbs by Warburton) but that’s what goes on in football. I think it’s just there’s an edge when you’ve got two massive clubs competing for the same thing, so you’re always going to get that little bit of friction. ‘There’s an element of pantomime to it all. It’s “to you, to me”, like the Chuckle Brothers say. I just stay away from it.’ Doolan believes Rangers may start feeling the heat if Hibs can notch up another win tonight against Mark Burchill’s side. ‘Would it be psychologically huge to cut the gap to two? I’d say so, yes,’ said Doolan. ‘Are Rangers under more pressure than us? If they are supposedly the bigger club then I suppose so, yes. ‘We just want to win the next game and, if it brings us two points closer to Rangers, then great. We’ve just got to do what we have been doing — winning games — and then we will see at the end of the season where that takes us.’