Matt Crooks and Josh Windass have returned to Accrington Stanley after completing their moves to Rangers earlier this week, but they could yet be back at Ibrox before the end of the month.

Having agreed terms with the pair on pre-contract deals, Mark Warburton now has a choice whether to wait until the summer to see them in action for his side or to make a move to sign them during the January transfer window.

If a deal can be done and Rangers can reach an agreement to get them in the coming weeks, that would benefit the squad this season and be a real help for the two lads in terms of their preparations for what will hopefully be a Premiership campaign next term.

They would have a chance to play their part in going for the title and then have a chance to bed in rather than coming up in the summer when they only have a matter of weeks before the new season.

It is about finances and how Mark sees it. I don’t think he needs them to win the Championship.

The squad at the moment is capable of going on to clinch the league. But, looking ahead to next season, you would rather the players were here as soon as possible.

It will be down to Mark whether he wants to pay the money and get them or whether he is happy to wait until the summer.

If we can get them sooner rather than later, both players will be determined to play their part in helping Rangers to the title.

It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we had to wait until the summer but you want to give players as much time as possible to settle into the club, to get to know the city and the expectations and be ready to really hit the ground running come the start of next season.

There has been a lot of talk about the deals from Andy Holt, the Accrington owner, over the last few days but he knew that the players would be out of contract and free to leave at the end of the season.

There was a lot of interest in both players so there was always a chance that deals would be done in January.

Rangers haven’t done anything wrong here. They are speaking to players in the final months of their contracts and they have done a deal.

I can understand why Accrington are unhappy because they have lost two important players and they won’t get as much money for them as they wanted. But Rangers don’t make the rules.

Rangers have done everything right here. This situation goes on across the country every year and there are always clubs who are unhappy when they lose players.

I understand clubs get frustrated when they put time and money into developing a player and then lose him for a minimal fee but you have to handle that situation. This is nothing new.

ACCRINGTON knew they only had a year left on their contracts and they either had to do a new deal, sell them or lose them for nothing in the summer.

Matt and Josh, left, have knocked back deals because they felt they could get a move and there is nothing wrong with players wanting to better themselves.

Mr Holt will now have to decide whether he wants to wait until the end of the season and get buttons for them or he wants to cash in this month and get more. He is as well getting a few quid for them now and I am sure Rangers will be keen to do a deal, if it suits them.

Some people will question the merits of signing players from Accrington Stanley but I have two words for you: Jamie Vardy.

He got his move to Leicester from Fleetwood after starting his career in the lower reaches of English football and now he is being linked with Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd.

There are gems out there and you have to go looking for them. Mark wouldn’t have brought Matt and Josh in if he didn’t think they were good enough and couldn’t handle the pressure of being at Rangers.

As I have said, you can be a good player, but if you can’t deal with being at Rangers when you are playing in front of big crowds, the fans are on your back and the media are focused on you, then it is pointless coming up here.

You can be the greatest talent in the world, but if you can’t handle life at Rangers then you won’t succeed here. Mark does his homework on every player and he must be confident these two lads will do well for Rangers.

I am sure there are still more signings to come and they are likely to be experienced players. Mark is well aware of where the squad is short and the rest of this transfer window and the summer will see him bring more players in to get the group in the shape it has to be for next season.

The fans will trust Mark’s judgment in the transfer market. He has had a lot of success with his signings so far and the players he has brought to the club have given us a new style of football this season.

He has got a lot of contacts in the game, he brought Frank McParland in a few months ago as well, and he will be working his way through a list of targets to get the right players in. Hopefully there are a couple more to follow before the window shuts.

Glasgow Times:

All the focus has been on players coming into Ibrox in the last couple of days after the deals for Harry Forrester, Maciej Gostomski, Matt Crooks and Josh Windass were clinched but I would think there may be players leaving the club before the end of the transfer window.

For the younger lads, like Ryan Hardie and Fraser Aird, a loan move away from Ibrox could be just what they need. Players need games to progress and learn and both of them have found their chances limited so far this season.

Ryan has been outstanding for the Under-20s and been on the bench for the first team a lot this season but he has only had a couple of games at that level. He needs to be playing regular games and I think the best thing for him would be to go out on loan for the second half of the season.

The same could be said of Fraser as well. He played a lot of games over the last couple of campaigns but he has got very little first team football under his belt so far this term.

The most frustrating thing for a footballer is when you train all week and then have nothing to show for it at the end of the week. You need to be playing so it wouldn’t surprise me if a couple of the lads went out on loan and got a chance to show Mark what they can do in a competitive environment.

Glasgow Times:

Any competition Rangers enter, they are in it to win it. And that applies to the Scottish Cup this season.

Is it our top priority? No. But that doesn’t make the tie against Cowdenbeath this weekend any less important and it doesn’t mean Mark and the players won’t want to win the competition this term.

Every player wants to be at Hampden for the last game of the season with a chance to win a medal. If Rangers can continue to play the way they are, there is no reason why we can’t have a good run this season.

Look at the clubs that have won it in the last few years. The likes of Inverness and St Johnstone have done it and Rangers have as good a chance as anyone this season.

They would probably be fourth or fifth favourites, even though they are in the Championship, and on their day they can beat anyone.

Mark will be desperate for silverware this season. The Championship is the main prize and we are already in the Petrofac Cup final and everyone in the squad will want to have a really good run in the Scottish Cup.

You want to be in the latter stages of cup competitions and Rangers will certainly take the competition seriously.

Mark will have been pleased to get a home tie for the fourth round and while he won’t take Cowdenbeath lightly he will be confident of booking a place in the hat for the next round.

It might give him a chance to use his squad and bring some players into the team and they will know that they need to make the most of any chance they are given and make an impression. After two good Championship wins against Hibernian and Dumbarton, it is important Rangers keep up the momentum and avoid a Scottish Cup slip on Sunday.