MARK WARBURTON is confident Rangers can rise to the occasion at Pittodrie and kick-start their Premiership campaign after getting back to winning ways in the Betfred Cup.

The Light Blues booked their place in the semi-finals with a 5-0 triumph over Queen of the South at Ibrox as Jason Holt and Andy Halliday netted and Martyn Waghorn hit a hat-trick.

Rangers have taken just nine points from their opening six top flight outings and are level with Aberdeen ahead of their eagerly-anticipated clash on Sunday.

Read more: Rangers 5-0 Queen of the South: Mark Warburton's side clinch Hampden spot with Ibrox winGlasgow Times: Rangers manager Mark Warburton

And Warburton is pleased Rangers will be making the trip with a comfortable win and encouraging showing to their credit.

He said: “We just want good performances. If you get your performance right the result follows.

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“Tonight was a clinical performance. We are now looking forward to what will be a tough trip.

“It has been four years since we have been up there. The fans are looking forward to it and so are the players.

“That [intensity] is what players come to Rangers [for]. They want to play in these type of games.

“It will be a 20,000 sell out and an intimidating atmosphere and they will enjoy that.

“We have momentum and we have also trained well. Performances are a consequence of training.

“The boys have been excellent. It filters through the squad and breeds confidence and self-belief. We are looking forward to the trip north.”

It has been a tough few weeks for Warburton and his players as they have drawn with Hamilton, Kilmarnock and Ross County and suffered a 5-1 Old Firm defeat at Parkhead.

Boss Warburton made a handful of changes to his starting line-up and was rewarded as Rangers eased into the last four of the competition.

Warburton said: “The players have been outstanding, all credit to them.

“They’ve worked really hard and we’re looking forward to what will now be a tough game on Sunday but we’re relishing that challenge.

“After what happened at Parkhead hard work is the only way of getting better. You have to put your head down at the training ground and the Saturday game becomes a consequence of what you do there.

“It was a pleasing night’s work. We made some changes, Harry Forrester and Michael O’Halloran came in on the wide areas and Lee Hodson came in and Niko Kranjcar came back.

“We asked them to dominate the football in the first half and we did that completely. The only complaint from us as a group is that it was 1-0 at half-time and it could have been more.

Read more: Rangers 5-0 Queen of the South: Mark Warburton's side clinch Hampden spot with Ibrox win

“We were a bit sloppy in the first 10 minutes of the second half in terms of keeping the football and maintaining our shape but then I thought we were very good.

“We scored goals but missed a lot of chances as well. The only different from Saturday was that we were a little bit more clinical and it helps build momentum.”

While it was to prove a far more pleasing night for Warburton, there were two injury concerns for the Gers boss as attentions turn to the trip to Pittodrie.

Josh Windass was replaced in the starting line-up by Niko Kranjcar after the warm-up, while Holt didn’t reappear for the second half.

Warburton said: “Josh Windass had a bit of tightness in his hamstring and we didn’t want to risk it and it was the same with Jason Holt who had a little bit of a tight quad at half-time and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“It’s a long season - big games ahead - so although we have good quality in the squad we need to keep it as fully fit as possible.”