Rangers boss Mark Warburton isn't fazed by Celtic's potential Champions League cash boost

Brendan Rodgers’ side will take a 5-2 lead into the second leg of their play-off clash with Hapoel Be’er Sheva on Tuesday as they look to reach the Group Stages for the first time in three seasons.

Victory for Celtic in Israel would see the Parkhead club land a significant cash windfall but would also benefit Scotland’s co-efficient and be a boost to our game after a series of Euro disappointments in recent years.

Read more: Rangers boss Mark Warburton laughs off Joey Barton's jibes towards Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers as 'banter'

And Warburton isn’t fazed by the prospect of his Hoops counterpart being able to splash the cash in the transfer market as a result of their exploits on the continent.

He said: “It (Scotland) needs [Celtic in the Champions League]. Anything we can do to promote the game in Scotland is massively important. We have to find ways of improving it.

Read more: Quality over quantity approach pays dividends for Rangers boss Mark Warburton

“I can’t control that (the money Celtic will receive). We can’t control what happens away from us.

“That’s out of our reach. Whatever happens there is fine.

“We have to get on with our job here and recognise that we have a very tough task in terms of the quality of the league to be the best we can be. That’s all we can do. It has to be that way.

“Some of the biggest transfers are some of the worst transfers. I won’t name them but you could reel off the big-money spends that haven’t worked out.

“I think about Andre Gray, £500,000, now rated at £30m. I think of James Tarkowski at £300,000, going for £5m. I think Moses [Odubajo] is probably worth £15m. He is the best right-back now.

“They’re guys that we are associated with but there are many, many others away from us.

“There is good business being done. The smaller transfers are sometimes the best ones.”

Celtic missed out on Champions League action in successive seasons under former boss Ronny Deila but are now just 90 minutes away from taking a seat at the top table of European football once again.

Even if Rodgers and his players were to fall short next week, they would then have a Europa League campaign to negotiate in the coming months.

Celtic will have six midweek fixtures on their schedule between now and Christmas while Rangers focus on their bid for the Premiership title.

But Warburton reckons the benefits of testing themselves against European opposition will outweigh the added strain that will be placed on the Parkhead squad.

He said: “I’m not saying that [we can’t compete]. We’re conscious of the European experience being gained by Aberdeen and Hearts for example.

“They’re playing in Europe and they’re getting more battle-hardened and they’re finding solutions to tough problems.

“So we’re aware of that a lot of our players haven’t been exposed to that. We’ve got to find a way. Our recruitment might be a way to counter that.

“To have players with European and international experience is one thing. Premier League experience is another thing.

“We’re very respectful. We’re very aware of the quality of challenge. If another team has a windfall like that, it’s how they use it.

“It’s certainly a weapon for them. What we have to do is use our weapons as best we can.

“Brendan is a good manager, as is Derek and Robbie and all the guys who have been playing in Europe.

“They’ll have a squad to deal with that. I’m sure they’ll have prepared their squads in order to deal with that level of challenge.”