MARK WARBURTON is not surprised to see Brendan Rodgers splash the cash in the pursuit of Premiership glory at Celtic this season.

But the Rangers boss insists he is happy to work with a smaller budget than his Old Firm title rival as he looks to add the finishing touches to his Ibrox blueprint.

Rodgers has brought Moussa Dembele, Kolo Toure and Scott Sinclair north of the border so far this summer and has seen his investments all pay dividends during their first few outings for the Hoops.

Across the city, Warburton has recruited nine players to add strength and depth to his Ibrox squad for the new Premiership campaign.

The likes of Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar were Bosman deals, while former Premier League kids Jordan Rossiter and Joe Dodoo arrived from Liverpool and Leicester respectively for six-figure compensation fees.

And the Light Blues boss is happy to continue searching for value in the market despite seeing money being spent at Parkhead.

Warburton said: "No I don't think it (Sinclair’s £3.5million fee) is a compliment to Rangers.

"I know Brendan and he would not have gone in there without the reassurance that he can mould the squad as he sees fit.

"That goes for any managers so I'm not just talking about Brendan.

"Managers at his level need reassurances that they can put their fingerprint or their stamp on the squad. And that's what I think he'll do.

"They'll look to add one or two more as well, as will we.

"I'm looking forward to it. But we're not misunderstanding the size of the challenge.

“We know about the quality of their squad like we know the quality of Aberdeen and Hearts. But that's why you come to Rangers.

"I'm not going to talk about [my budget]. I'm not going to mention what our budget strength is.

"The board have backed us from day one. I think we surprised a few people with who we got in the summer but hopefully we can surprise people again with one or two more. But the board have been first class.

"Look at Jordan Rossiter at 19.When you look at some of the fees being paid for players down south we got great value there. The same with Joe Dodoo, a very talented player.

"Joey Barton could go and play Premier League. You could attach values to these players but it's how you use your money.

“A key word is expectation. If I’m with a club down south and someone has a budget of £25m - and my budget is £10m - then that's a tough one.

"If their budget is £25m and mine is £18m then I think I can deal with that."