MARK WARBURTON is confident Rangers are on the right track as they attempt to overhaul Celtic and reclaim top spot in Scottish football.

The Light Blues have struggled on their return to the Premiership this term and are seven points adrift of their Old Firm rivals in the standings.

A 5-1 derby defeat was the low point of the campaign to date but the signs have been more encouraging for Warburton in the last few weeks.

The Gers face Brendan Rodgers’ side in the Betfred Cup semi-finals tomorrow and the Ibrox boss is determined to continue striving for success.

“You know full well that is a difficult question for a Rangers manager to answer, or any manager to answer,” Warburton said when asked if there was a gap between his side and Celtic.

“The fact is, budgetary wise, I imagine the gap is probably two and a half to three times, I would imagine. They are playing in the Champions League, gaining valuable European experience and have a squad packed with international players.

“I have got utter belief that our squad here is getting better and better. We are gelling in a number of new players, players are getting fitness levels back and are understanding how we play.

“You might come from a team where you have 40% possession to Rangers where you have 70% possession. You might be entrenched in 4-4-2 and are now being asked to play 4-3-3.

“There are various things and demands placed on players coming into the team that aren’t always recognised.

“We are getting there and I was pleased with the performance on Friday. It was a tough place to go, we were brave, we moved the ball.

“Criticisms? We didn’t score enough goals. But the performances are consistently getting higher.”

Rangers have seen their title dreams suffer a series of blows in the first couple of months of the campaign as they have fallen well off the pace being set by the Hoops.

Celtic are firm favourites to emerge victorious at Hampden tomorrow and continue the impressive start they have made up under boss Rodgers.

And Warburton isn’t surprised to see his former Watford colleague making an instant impact following his summer switch to Scotland.

He said: “They have added some very good attacking individuals in Sinclair and Dembele and they are proven young talents.

“I said in the first press conference that Brendan, having worked with him, would bring a level of organisation and belief, which I am sure he has done.

“They are a team packed full of internationals and a number who played in the semi-final will play on Sunday I am sure.

“There is not a huge change in terms of the personnel. It is the fine margins in football, whether it is belief, unity, an aspect of play, whatever it may be, sometimes it falls into place. That is how the game works.”

Rangers will return to the scene of their finest win on Warburton’s watch when they stride out at the National Stadium on Sunday.

But the Light Blues boss knows his side must finish the job this time and clinch the silverware if they are able to progress to another cup final.

Warburton said: “We had a great day in the semi-final for the club after the way it has been. We beat Celtic in a good game, nail-biting, a great showpiece for Scottish football, but we lost the final.

“It doesn’t say ‘lost the final but had a great semi-final’. We lost the final.

“Any game you go into, you want to win. If you lose that winning desire then don’t be in football.

“Our job on Sunday is to focus on the semi-final, try and get the right result and once that is done the cup goes out the window until the next game. After that, it is about St Johnstone and everything goes towards that.”