Rangers boss Mark Warburton keen to wrap up January deals
Sunday 17 January 2016 23:51, UK
Rangers boss Mark Warburton is hopeful of wrapping up his January transfer dealings within the next week.
Michael O'Halloran could be the first Ibrox arrival after being left out of the St Johnstone line-up that faced Hamilton on Saturday, with boss Tommy Wright admitting the forward was "not mentally right" following two failed bids from the Glasgow giants.
Brentford's Toumani Diagouraga has also been linked with a move to Ibrox but Warburton was staying quiet on the progress of both those deals after Saturday's 4-1 stroll against Livingston.
"Michael is a St Johnstone player and I'm never going to talk about another team's players," Warburton said after the win which moved his side six points clear at the top of the Championship.
"I'm not going to talk about Toumani either. He's a Brentford player and we will only ever comment once any business is completed.
"However, we think we are close with a couple of players. A lot of work has gone on in the background but hopefully we will get the deal over the line in the coming days."
But Warburton - whose side have now hit 19 goals in their last four games - says Rangers could go the distance this season with the players they have now if they had to.
"I've told the players I'm happy with the squad now. If we don't get another player in during January, the squad is more than strong enough," he said. "If we can get one or two in who we think can add some value in key areas then we will do it."
A rampant first-half display helped Rangers put pressure on title rivals Falkirk and Hibernian, who play on Sunday, with goals from Danny Wilson, Kenny Miller and a Martyn Waghorn double.
Liam Buchanan pulled one back for Livingston 10 minutes into the second half and Andy Halliday saw his stoppage-time spot-kick saved.
However, Warburton said: "It was a really good first half. It was difficult weather conditions for both sides but I thought we played excellently in the first half, creating chance after chance.
"We dominated the ball and could have scored more. We wanted to come out in the second half and match that level but it was a bit lacklustre, a bit flat. However, the job was done by half-time."
Livingston boss David Hopkin said: "We were overwhelmed in the first half. Rangers started with a great tempo and we struggled to cope. In the first 20 minutes it could have been any score. But I changed things at half-time and asked for a performance. I got it so overall I'm delighted."
