MARK WARBURTON has spent a couple of million pounds assembling this Rangers squad but there is no doubt that further investment is required before they are in a position to win the Premiership title.

Graeme Souness said in the aftermath of the Betfred Cup defeat to Celtic last weekend that the board should back Mark with more funds in a bid to close the gap as quickly as possible.

Graeme is entitled to his opinion but remember when he was at Ibrox money was no object. He was able to buy real quality players and he had millions of pounds to spend. He was very successful.

Rangers are a bit behind Celtic at present, there is no doubt about that. You can see that for yourself.

Graeme said we were five years behind them and he is right in a sense because we have been down the leagues for four years and we are just back so we are a few years behind in terms of being at the top level. But he said that if Mark makes two or three quality signings then that could change everything.

It is whether Rangers are prepared to do that or not. Will they? I don’t know.

Dave King has said that millions would need to be spent over the next few years but that wasn’t just for transfers. You have to remember the money that has been spent already as the board and the investors address long-standing issues at the club in terms of paying off loans and the money they have put into Ibrox and Auchenhowie.

The fans want all the money being spent on players but the stadium and the training ground needed work and the board have done that.

But there is no doubt that the squad does require further investment if the club is to get back to the level that we are accustomed to.

Rangers want to get European football next season and that would be fantastic. To do that, I think Mark will look to add to his squad again in January.

If that means paying for them, then that is what needs to happen. It is hard to get the quality of player that you want in January but if you are prepared to pay a bit of money for them then that helps.

Mark will know his budget and I am sure he will be pleased if he gets a few quid to go into the market with.

If he does, you might find that there are two or three that leave during the transfer window. There are some that are on the periphery of the team so you might see two or three going out as well as two or three coming in.

I went for Rangers at the start of the season and it is obvious now that Celtic are well ahead of anybody in the league. You couldn’t bet on Celtic not winning the Premiership.

The title isn’t Rangers’ priority right now. What they have to do now is make sure that they finish second and that battle is between Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts.

If they get second and reach the latter stages of the Scottish Cup, or even win it, then that would be a good season overall.

There are a lot of players there that are taking their time to settle in at Ibrox. Some can come in and hit the ground running but for others it does take a while and that is what Mark is trying to get over to people.

He has got a lot of new players in the squad but at Rangers you don’t get a while to get up to speed. There were a lot of boos on Wednesday night and drawing with Hamilton, Ross County and St Johnstone at Ibrox isn’t good enough.

But they are still there with Hearts and Aberdeen and there is no reason why Rangers can’t finish second. That is just where we are at this moment in time.

We don’t have the players or the resources that we have had in the past so we will have to bide our time. The board might have a meeting and decide that further investment is needed this season and it will be interesting to see how they and Dave King react now.

Do they give Mark more money to spend in January or do they take what they can from this season and keep the money until the summer?

Celtic brought in a couple of players that made a difference to them but they had a good side anyway. Aberdeen and Hearts were the same and they have enhanced their squads for this season.

They finished well last year and they know what this league is all about. Rangers had to bring in more players and it does take time for the signings to settle, especially at a club like Rangers.

It has not been a great few weeks for Rangers and there is pressure on the manager and the players ahead of the game with Kilmarnock this afternoon.

But I am in no doubt that the results will come and that there will be an improvement over the next few matches before the transfer window opens again.