GRAEME MURTY has defended the way Rangers have conducted themselves in the transfer market this month.

Former Ibrox striker Kris Boyd was critical of the Light Blues this week after Kilmarnock rejected a bid for winger Jordan Jones.

And he accused the Gers of ‘unsettling’ players as boss Steve Clarke insisted the offer for Jones was ‘nowhere near acceptable’.

The Gers have signed Sean Goss, Jamie Murphy, Jason Cummings and Russell Martin on loan deals in recent weeks and are also eyeing a move for Hamilton midfielder Greg Docherty.

Murty said: “Kris is entitled to his opinion. As far as I’m concerned we have made offers for players and it’s well within their rights to turn those bids down. Our business has been above board and transparent.

“If he thinks our bids are too low, that’s Kris’ opinion.

“You make a bid, as to your perceived value of the player. The other club may have a different value. If that’s the case, we either renegotiate and come to an agreement or we walk away.

“There is no bitterness, no anger. It’s just business and the way it has always been done in football.

“I don’t think there is any point answering that (whether Rangers are unsettling players), because it’s just how business is done.

“We didn’t go to the player, we went to the other club in the correct manner and offered a value for the player. They turned it down. Fair enough, we move on.

“Every club has an obligation to be prudent with their finances. We have to make sure the safety of the club is protected at all times. As far as I’m concerned, we are doing that in a correct manner.

“Our business is being conducted with due diligence from above. We are making sure that everything we do is for the future of the football club, to move us forward.”

Rangers have also come in for criticism from former captain Barry Ferguson in recent days after Steven Naismith clinched a loan move to Hearts.

But Murty is pleased with the options he has in the final third of the park after the 31-year-old returned north of the border until the end of the campaign.

He said: “I talked to Steven but we were concentrating on the guys that we have brought in. Congratulations to Hearts for getting him but I’m going to concentrate and talk about the guys we’ve got here, if that’s OK.

“We were looking at lots of players, but we identified Jamie Murphy early because it was an area we needed strengthened.

“Then we looked at the centre-forward options, with Kenny Miller being injured, and wanted to have more variety and options at the top of the pitch. That was really a no-brainer for me.

“So the guys we have brought in were those guys we targeted as ‘must haves’. Obviously, you would look at other areas.

“You don’t want to bring too many in who are not going to be playing regularly. You want to make sure the people you bring in are going to go straight into the starting line-up and contribute immediately. Those are the areas we targeted to go and do that.

“Steven is now a Hearts player. Whatever has gone on between Steven and Hearts or between Steven and Rangers is our business.

“He is a Hearts player and we wish him all the best, but obviously not against us. We wish him good luck with his new club.”