Warburton to discuss future after his return

MARK WARBURTON has vowed to sit down and thrash out his Ibrox future after Rangers return from America. Talks were opened last month to extend his contract, but the fact no agreement has yet been reached led to speculation that negotiations had broken down, which Warburton was previously forced to deny. The 53-year-old, who has two years left on his current deal, declared yesterday: ‘I said before that we had opened discussions, then I went on holiday. But you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If you say nothing it’s: “He’s going.” You can’t win. So it will be good to put it to rest and give some clarification to it. We will reopen these discussions when we go back and hopefully reach a suitable conclusion.’ However, chairman Dave King yesterday warned that the Rangers board will only reward players, manager and coaching staff with improved contracts ‘in all instances’ if it is in the club’s interests. He said that means the employee ‘typically’ signing lengthier deals or agreeing to a bigger buyout clause in return for a more lucrative deal. King told the club website that Rangers’ approach was ‘to recognise the reality of the market we operate in’. And, he added: ‘In instances where we feel that a player, coach or manager is performing at a level of consistency above what was anticipated at the time of the original contract we will not wait until contract maturity to recognise this. ‘The present board is happy to reward improved performance and effort with an early renegotiation of the terms in favour of the employee but, in all instances, will require something for the club in return. ‘This will typically include an extension to the contract period, improved buy out clauses etc.’