ANY striker wants to get a goal as soon as the season starts and to get off and running in the scoring charts. It is the first thing that comes into your head and you hope it is the first of many.

So Martyn Waghorn will be delighted to have scored in the wins over Motherwell and Annan in Rangers’ first two Betfred Cup games this term.

The longer you go without scoring, the more frustrated you get and you end up trying things you normally wouldn’t because you want that goal.

It is important to score in the first couple of matches and Martyn has managed to get two in two so that will give him a bit of confidence straight away.

He has worked hard in the summer, he looks in good shape and he has played well so far. He is putting in the hours to improve his game and he will certainly benefit from that this season.

The one thing I have noticed again is how hard he is working when he doesn’t have the ball. That is what the manager is looking for, he wants the team to be playing at a high tempo and for people to be putting a shift in to fulfil their role.

Mark Warburton has got more strength and depth in his squad and the guys with the jerseys know that they have to be at their best to hold on to them. If you don’t perform, you won’t play.

Martyn has started off the season well and he will hope to use the remaining League Cup ties and the friendly against Burnley to fine tune his game for the start of the Premiership campaign against Hamilton.

The one thing that will have hit Martyn, as it would have James Tavernier, both of whom we spoke about last week, is that he now has someone eyeing his starting jersey every week.

Tavernier would have watched the Annan game on Tuesday night and been impressed with Lee Hodson and he will know he has to be at his best if he is to keep his place in the team.

Martyn is exactly the same having seen a lot of attack minded players come in over the summer, with Joe Dodoo being the latest one this week after he signed from Leicester City.

With Kenny Miller, Barrie McKay and Michael O’Halloran all able to operate across the front three, and there will be another forward coming in, Mark has got plenty of options.

The arrival of Niko Kranjcar will undoubtedly help in the final third as well. He is not the fastest player in the world but he is a very quick thinker and he is a joy to watch.

Some of his passes and flicks and his movement on Tuesday night were excellent. There is no doubt he has a touch of class about him.

If Josh Windass was nervous about making his debut at Ibrox, he didn’t show it. He got at people, he was a threat, showed good skill and he just looked the part.

Of course, the season is only just underway and the manager is still considering his options ahead of the new league campaign. We have the game with East Stirlingshire tonight, against Stranraer on Monday and then the Burnley game.

Mark will mix and match his side again and he certainly has a number of ways he can go in the final third when you consider the attacking talent he has at his disposal.

That means Martyn has got plenty of competition and he would have known he had to come out this season and get off to a quick start. That is what he has done.

He was disappointed with how last year ended for him with his injury and the Scottish Cup final defeat but that is all gone now. He is with Rangers in the Premiership and that is why he joined the club.

Every one of the players that has moved to Ibrox under Mark Warburton wants to be playing in the games against Celtic, playing in big cup games and challenging for honours to get back into Europe.

I think Waggy will start the league campaign as the main striker and he deserves his chance after his performances and his goals last term. But he can’t take anything for granted and I am sure he won’t.

If he keeps playing and keeps scoring then he will retain his place, but now if he isn’t finding the net and the performances aren’t there then he could find himself out of the team.

It is a situation that players should relish. It is up to them to work hard, give it their all and perform on the park from one week to the next.

I don’t think you will get a player coming out and saying ‘I am going to get 20 or 25 goals this season’. Things can happen over a season that mean you don’t reach that target.

I never said what I was going for. I said that if the chances kept coming along and I took them then I would score a fair few goals.

If you say you’ll get 20 and only score 18 then people criticise you. But it could have been 18 goals that won 18 games.

They are more important than scoring 30 but having a couple of hat-tricks in cup ties in big wins against lower league teams. It is about scoring goals in the right games that help the team.

The amount of winning goals is more important than what you end up with at the end of the season and Martyn will certainly contribute his fair share this season.