MARK WARBURTON is used to taking punts ...

David Weir is thankful he took a chance on him.

A relationship that was formed as they looked to give aspiring youngsters the best chance of success in the game has led to Weir being handed the opportunity of a lifetime.

But it could all have been so different for the 45-year-old as he looked to get his coaching career back on track in the aftermath of a turbulent time at Sheffield United.

Weir made the move to Bramall Lane in June 2013 with his stock high after a spell in the youth department at Everton, but the management dream quickly turned to a nightmare.

Just months into a three-year contract, Weir was sacked by the Blades after only an unlucky 13 games in charge.

He was left facing an uncertain future in the dugout, but he didn't have to wait long for a second chance.

It was Warburton, a man he had grown friendly with whilst discussing the NextGen series that the 52-year-old masterminded, that would give Weir a route back into the dugout.

The rest is history, but the future looks bright for the pair as they continue their rise and rise in the game together.

Their feats at Brentford - taking the Bees from League One to the Championship play-offs inside a year - made Warburton and Weir one of the most talked about management teams in England.

It is north of the border, and back on familiar territory for Weir, where the pair will look to continue their upward trajectory after being appointed at Ibrox and charged with re- establishing Rangers at the top of our game.

It is a chance both men are determined to make the most of as they look to revitalise the Light Blues and Weir remains thankful to the man he will assist in Govan.

"I definitely owe him," he said. "After the disappointment at Sheffield you lose you confidence. That's natural - when you lose your job you lose your confidence.

"For Mark to give me the opportunity to work again so quickly was great for me and I am grateful to him for giving me that opportunity to be successful again and to get the back the belief that what I was doing is right. So, yes, I do owe him for that.

"That sums up the kind of fella he is. He is a straight talker and you believe in him as soon as you meet him and work with him. That was my experience.

"I liked him from day one and when I got the opportunity to go and work with him I thought it was the right opportunity for me."

If Warburton took a leap of faith in Weir, the same can be said of the Scot in the man who invited him to become his assistant manager at Brentford two years ago.

He would join a rising star chasing a dream and fulfilling a lifelong ambition, a Londoner who turned his back on the high-stakes world of City trading to attempt to make his name in football.

His background was unusual, but his methods and his outlook struck a chord with Weir.

After making a leap into the unknown, he has now taken another significant step with Warburton after signing on at Ibrox.

"I would be lying if I said I was convinced he was going to be a success," Weir said. "But I knew him as a man and I liked him. I thought he was going to be a success, but I don't think you can ever guarantee it.

"I thought he had all the attributes and I liked him as a man, which is really important that you get one well with somebody and respect them and they show you respect. That was the biggest thing.

"When we got the Brentford job, we were fourth in League One. In the 18 months to two years we were there we moved the club forward, so hopefully that has given a bit of reassurance to the Rangers fans and everyone associated with the club that we can be a success."

With their move to Ibrox signed and sealed, Warburton and Weir must now quickly get down to work if they are to make the kind of impact at Ibrox that made them so highly regarded at Griffin Park.

Rangers will play their first competitive game of the season on July 25 and the list of things to do for the new management team could stretch the length of Edmiston Drive.

But Weir is not fazed by the time constraints, nor the task in hand as a squad is assessed and overhauled ahead of the new campaign.

"No we haven't, but very rarely in football do you get time," he said. "I don't think time is something you are given at any time. But we have got a window, we know exactly what we've got to face. But we're in now and we can start working now.

"Although we've not got time, I think it's important we make good decisions and don't rush into things and don't make decisions based on time.

"We have to make decisions because they are the right decisions. That goes for a lot of things. I think Rangers as a football club deserve that decisions are made for the right reasons."

The rebuilding job that Warburton and Weir face is considerable and failure cannot be contemplated for Rangers as they prepare for a second season in Scotland's second tier.

Defeat to Motherwell in the play-off final last month was the culmination of a campaign, and indeed several years, to forget at Ibrox.

The arrival of a new board has sparked the recovery and the appointment of the new management team is the next step in the right direction.

Weir said: "It has been difficult for every Rangers supporter to hear the sort of stories to come out of the club. The news has all been negative. These have been difficult times for the club.

"But hopefully with the help of Paul and John, the backing of the board and Dave King as well we can take the club forward and start getting some good news stories and start talking about football, start talking about things we all want to be talking about by getting a team on the pitch that is getting Rangers back to where we all want to be."