THE door is always open and the lines of communication are always clear.

Mark Warburton reckons it is good to talk. Now Martyn Waghorn hopes he can give Rangers something to shout about.

It has not been the start to the season that Waghorn had anticipated this term but, like Warburton’s side, the striker now appears to be on the right track in the Premiership.

The Englishman has not had his troubles to seek as contract talks stalled, injury kept him out of action for several weeks and a loss of form kept him off the scoresheet for nine games.

Waghorn marked his return to the starting line-up with a double against Hamilton and then hit the only goal of the game to help Rangers to a fourth successive win as Inverness were beaten on Christmas Eve.

There were murmurs of discontent surrounding Waghorn earlier in the campaign. His discussions with his manager have helped him rediscover his form rather than made him head for the Ibrox exit door, though.

“Definitely not,” he said when asked if he had held clear the air talks with Warburton.

“Since I have come in the gaffer has been brilliant with us. He has always talked to us, he is always explaining things to us. I have had a relationship with the gaffer in the past in terms of speaking.

“He is one of these managers you can really speak to. He gives you a lot of confidence. Trust me, there have never been any words or anything like any of the stories which have come out.

“He is a great guy and I have a lot to thank him for. He has given me a lot of confidence going back in to express myself and play my game hopefully I am repaying him now.

“It’s huge. It’s important you understand your role in the team and how he feels about your performances.

“He’s the first one to come and tell you if you’re not doing your job but he’s also the first one to come and have a conversation with you about anything else.

“He’s a good guy and he’s clear that conversation is the best way and that things don’t get hidden. You’re a squad and it’s all about progressing as a team going forward.”

It was Waghorn who made Ibrox roar at the weekend as his first half strike proved the difference and earned Rangers a narrow, hard-fought victory.

But it has been fellow forward Joe Garner who has been serenaded by the Light Blue legions in recent weeks as he has become a firm favourite with supporters.

Sixties hit ‘Glad All Over’ re-entered the Christmas charts as Gers fans pay tribute to the striker and Waghorn is pleased to see Garner’s efforts being noticed.

He said: “Garns is crackers at the best of times. He heard it through the grapevine what was happening as he is not on social media.

“The boys have been telling him about it and stuff. It is a catchy little tune.

“He comes across as quiet, but, trust us, he isn’t quiet, far from it. He is one of those guys who are deceptively out there. He is a good lad.

“You can see his work rate and his desire and commitment to play for the shirt. That is huge playing for a club like this.

“When you come to a team with a lot of quality and a lot of competition it is always going to take a bit of time to bed in and he was a bit slow getting off and running.

“But you can now see what he offers the team, an out ball. He works hard and puts a right shift in for the boys.”

After firing Rangers to victory over Caley Thistle, Waghorn will now look to play his part in another Premiership success at McDiarmid Park tonight.

The meeting with St Johnstone is the final warm-up ahead of the Hogmanay showdown with Celtic and the Gers can ill-afford to take a step back after striding forward in recent weeks.

Confidence has grown as momentum has been built and Waghorn is determined to add another three points to the Light Blues’ top flight tally.

He said: “Teams are fitter and stronger and can go for the full 95 minutes whereas last year teams were maybe getting tired and we were getting a lot of chances late on.

“The commitment is there for everybody to see – teams are coming to Ibrox and they want to stop Rangers winning, so it’s been harder to break teams down.

“We’re winning games ugly but we’re playing well on other occasions, we’ve won four out of four and that’s not bad going into the busy period. It’s about finding the right balance.

“You’re playing for Rangers and you’ve got to win every game. Think the boys are more than happy with the way we’re playing.

“A few things could be better – we were disappointed with how we played on Christmas Eve but we’re winning games which is the key thing.

“Going into a game like that we want to go into it off the back of a good result. We’re feeling positive, we’re feeling strong and we’re in a good place right now.”