MARK WARBURTON has challenged Barrie McKay to maintain his stunning start to the season and become a key player for Rangers this term.

The winger spent time on loan at Morton and Raith Rovers in recent years but has made the most of the arrival of Warburton and assistant David Weir at Ibrox and turned in a series of impressive performances in the opening weeks of the campaign.

McKay netted his second goal of the season in the 5-1 win over Queen of the South on Sunday as he capped a Man of the Match performance with a deserved strike.

And Warburton is pleased to see the 20-year-old making the most of his chance to shine in Light Blue this term.

He said: “All David and I can do is forget any previous history, or any baggage. We’ve come in and assessed the team from the first day of pre-season, and Barrie’s application has been first-class.

“He’s worked hard and his commitment has never been in question, so he deserves to be a part of the squad and to be playing.

“I’m delighted for him that his hard work is paying off, and the level of his display yesterday was outstanding.

“His big challenge now is consistency. He’s shown what he can achieve week-in and week-out, and he’ll have to show that on a week to week basis now.

“If he can do that he can have a really big impact for the club going forward.”

Victory over the Doonhamers moved Rangers top of the Championship standings as they made it eight wins from eight competitive outings on Warburton’s watch.

And the 52-year-old is glad his squad are getting the rewards their efforts deserve as they have stormed out of the blocks this season.

Warburton said: “That’s the beauty of what’s happening just now. Sometimes you can work really hard and not get what you deserve.

“But the players are working hard, their commitment has been first-class and we’re getting positive results with 30 goals scored in our eight games so far.

“It’s positive, it’s attacking, and they players are enjoying what they are doing.”

While it was another encouraging afternoon at the office for Warburton, it wasn’t a perfect one for Rangers as they missed out on their fifth clean sheet this term.

And the Ibrox boss will continue striving for further improvement as he looks to maintain the momentum in the coming weeks.

“We have to look at the details and the details were that we gave away a sloppy goal and it is important to learn from that,” Warburton told RangersTV.

“We took one or two liberties possibly in the last 15 minutes but, overall, credit to the players to come to this type of venue, have that type of challenge, and play in that manner was really pleasing.”