There have been a few negative headlines about James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn turning down new deals at Rangers in the past week.

But it’s worth remembering that both players have another two years remaining on their existing contracts.

It is not as if the Ibrox club is in any danger of losing them. It is much ado about nothing.

Anyway, I feel both men have to prove themselves in the Ladbrokes Premiership in the coming campaign before they get offered improved terms.

Tavernier and Waghorn did superbly in the Championship last term and scored a lot of goals as Mark Warburton’s team won promotion to the top flight comfortably.

But Rangers should see how they do against the likes of Aberdeen, Celtic and Hearts in the coming months.

They will be playing against far better defenders, midfielders and strikers than they have been up until now.

Will they feature as regularly in the 2016/17 with the quality of player that Rangers have brought in? That remains to be seen. There is now massive competition for places.

If they have one or two bad games they could well find themselves on the bench. Their manager now has cover in every position in the team.

If you want to be a regular in the Rangers side in the season ahead you will have to perform very consistently. Neither Tavernier or Waghorn has been under that sort of pressure before at Ibrox.

Nor have they held down a starting spot in a club in the top division in the past. They came up to this country having featured in the lower reaches of English football.

I would like Rangers to see how both men fare in the Premiership before they offer them more money. If they continue to do well then, fine, give them new contracts.

They may well have seen the likes of Joey Barton, Clint Hill and Niko Kranjcar come in on more money than they are on in the summer and requested a review of their own levels of remuneration.

But, with the greatest of respect, there is a difference. Barton, Hill and Kranjcar are players who have proved themselves at the highest level. Tavernier and Waghorn still have to do that.

The only way Rangers were going to lure such big names to this country was by offering them big money. Remember, they haven’t paid anything for them.

The chance to earn new contracts on more money should be an incentive to both Tavernier and Waghorn to do well in the coming season. But I would leave it until next summer to do business.

It is no surprise to me that the two players Mark Warburton is still looking to strengthen his squad with are a centre-half and a centre-forward.

He was a bit miffed that his interest in the Leicester City striker Joe Dodoo, who has come up to Auchenhowie to train with a view to making a loan move, leaked out this week.

But that, as he well knows now, that is the reality of life at the two big clubs in Glasgow. Nothing stays under wraps for long.

Rangers need to increase their options up front and at the back. They looked suspect defensively at times last season despite their success.

Look at the Scottish Cup Final. They allowed Anthony Stokes to walk into their box and score early on and then conceded two identical late goals at set piece.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Hill and a new centre-half, if they manage to bring one in, start in the heart of the defence in the opening Premiership game against Hamilton next month.

So the players who helped Rangers to win promotion last season, even standouts like Tavernier and Waghorn, have a lot to do to prove they deserve to hold onto their places.