Rangers manager Mark Warburton warns new signing Harry Forrester
Sunday 3 January 2016 01:41, UK
Mark Warburton has warned Harry Forrester he will have to earn his place in the Rangers side after they secured their biggest win of the season with a 6-0 thrashing of Dumbarton.
Forrester watched from the stands as the Light Blues ran riot, with striker Kenny Miller scoring a hat-trick while goals from Martyn Waghorn, Andy Halliday and James Tavernier rounded off a convincing win.
But winger Forrester, signed last week from Doncaster for an undisclosed fee, has been told he must prove he can cut it at Ibrox before he gets his chance to impress.
Warburton - who is also expected to complete a deal for former Lech Poznan goalkeeper Maciej Gostomski next week - said: "A lot of work has been done already and a lot more work will be done because we said we'll strengthen and bring in players, and that's what we'll do.
"We want to get our business done early and hopefully we'll get a lot more done this week but no player comes in and walks straight into the team.
"You saw the commitment of the players and whoever comes to the club has to justify their position in the team."
Rangers re-established themselves as the frontrunners in the race for the Scottish Championship title last week with their 4-2 win over rivals Hibernian.
Gers fans had to wait until the 42nd minute before Miller broke the deadlock but they proceeded to score almost at will against Dumbarton
"It was a very satisfying display," added Warburton. "This is a difficult place to come and the pitch was really heavy and the wind was blowing.
"We worked them in the first half but we didn't get the goals we wanted. But we got our rewards in the second half and that was really pleasing.
"We spoke before and after about the importance of building on the win and the performance against Hibs.
"That was the message. Whether there are 52,000 inside the ground or just 2,000, nothing changes.
"It's about the standards, it's about dominating the football and getting the rewards."
Warburton singled out hat-trick hero Miller for praise, adding: "Kenny can't let his standards drop and he knows that.
"His contribution on and off the pitch is so important and I thought he was excellent."
Dumbarton boss Stevie Aitken was understandably disappointed with the result but admitted they were facing a side he feels will most likely win the division.
"It wasn't the best start to the year but you've got to understand it was Rangers we were playing, a team that is probably going to go on and win the Championship," he said.
"There was a wee bit of debate with the first goal as a few of our boys thought it was handball but the longer it went, the more tiredness came into it."
