MARK WARBURTON is confident the latest off-field drama surrounding Rangers won’t affect his players on the park this term.

Former Ibrox chairman Craig Whyte and ex chief executive Charles Green appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court this week and were charged with serious organised crime offences.

Paul Clark and David Whitehouse of Duff and Phelps have also been charged and, like Whyte and Green, have been released on bail.

The arrests are the latest chapter in the lengthy Rangers saga but the picture is far clearer for supporters following the regime change in March and appointment of Warburton and David Weir as the Gers’ management team in June.

And the 52-year-old is determined to keep the focus on matters on the field and give the Light Blue legions plenty more to cheer this season.

Warburton said: “I don’t see why that should be the case. I think football fans want to follow their football club and look at how their team performs. They want to enjoy the match day and the build-up and get value for money.

“If we are giving them that, that’s our job. If they enjoy what they see, see a real work ethic from the players and the results are going our way, that should be the overriding factor.

“It’s not a case of how good the fans have got it now. We have a long way to go.

“It is about the players and the supporters can see they are committed and giving their best.

“When we went to Airdrie, there were more than 7000 there. There were banks of Rangers fans at Queen of the South on Sunday.

“With 50,000 at Ibrox, that is our responsibility. We use that message every week with the players, but the right players enjoy that responsibility. The wrong players drown under it.”

The Rangers story has been a lengthy and complicated one as fans have been left to fear for the future of their club.

Having now seen Warburton’s side win their first eight games this term, there is a renewed optimism of a bright future once again at Ibrox.

And the former Brentford boss is determined to play his part in the recovery after watching the Gers’ trials and tribulations from afar.

Warburton said: “You couldn’t fail to see it. Every football fan up and down the country knew what was going on because of the size of Glasgow Rangers.

“We watched it on TV and it was heartbreaking to see, really, some of it. Our job as a football department is to come in now and try to play the right kind of attractive football that the fans enjoy. If we do that, we have made some strides in the right direction.

“My focus is the football department. I am not ignoring a very important question, but it has to be.

“If we lose focus and concentration, the team are weakened by that. All the staff have to focus on being best prepared.

“Right now, it is about Raith and nothing can distract us from that.”