Mark Warburton confident Niko Kranjcar will get fighting fit and prove his class at Rangers sooner rather than later

The midfielder has shown glimpses of his quality during his handful of appearances for Rangers so far this term but is still short of match fitness and sharpness.

Kranjcar was replaced after an hour against Hamilton on Saturday as Warburton’s side were held to a 1-1 draw on their return to the Premiership.

He could feature in the Betfred Cup tie at home to Peterhead tonight and boss Warburton is confident the playmaker will soon get back to his best and become an integral part of the Light Blues’ title challenge this term.

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He said: “Niko is a player who probably for the last four or five years hasn’t really been fully challenged, I don’t think.

“At 31-years-old Niko has now got a chance to show how good he can be.

“He’s a supremely talented ball player, he does stuff in training every day that takes your breath away but he’s working tirelessly.

“He’s been out in the US and come back and I’ve watched how hard he’s worked. I’ve watched the body fat that he’s shed already and he’s still working tirelessly.

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“He’s one of many players, it’s not just about Niko, that have still got more to go. It’s that stage of the season but there is no doubt he’s a really special talent, so our job is to work with him to give him the best chance to be the best he can be.

“It’s not about a specific timescale. What we have to do as a group of staff is challenge him.

“If you’re away from your main job for four or five years, you don’t come straight back in in a month and come back in again.

“He’s worked hard. The obvious one is shedding body fat. It’s everything else around it, shedding body fat, the heart and lungs, the application, the concentration.

“You can see he knows how good he can be but that goes for a number of players. Joey will tell you that he’s not ready yet, Lee Hodson is not quite ready yet, Gilks is not ready yet but they are all getting there.

“Our job as staff is to make sure we get there. It’s not a sprint. It’s not about saying Niko must be fit by 3 o’clock this coming Saturday.

“As long as we get him into a situation where he delivers his best over a consistent period of time, we’ll be okay but I can’t put a timescale on it.”

After facing Peterhead tonight, Rangers will make the trip to Dens Park this weekend as they look to clinch their first league win of the campaign.

And Warburton is confident his side won’t lose too much ground before his squad are at the levels he would like this term.

He said: “No, not at all. There are no excuses. That pre-season wasn’t ideal but we’ve got a great training facility here, there are no excuses, far from it.

“The players are fit and will keep on getting fitter and will benefit from playing more competitive games. That goes for every player in the league.

“There are no excuses. If gaps appear it’s because of our inadequacies, not because of our lack of preparation.”