Mark Warburton does not want his performance as Rangers boss to be judged on his record against Celtic.

The Ibrox manager is preparing to face Brendan Rodgers' rampant Ladbrokes Premiership leaders on Saturday - with a massive 16-point chasm currently separating the country's top two.

But the Englishman does not believe the Old Firm rivals' head-to-heads this season will be an accurate reflection of Gers progress.

Warburton has every reason to want to forget this season's derby clashes.

Gers were humiliated in this season's opener at Parkhead in September, when Rodgers marked his arrival on the Glasgow scene with a 5-1 demolition job.

Their next encounter came in October's Betfred Cup semi-final when the Hoops struck in stoppage time to break Light Blue hearts again.

Warburton insists his side have come on leaps and bounds since their first meeting but he reckons the final standings will be a better measure of his work.

Asked what he should be judged on, he said: "It has to be where we finish. I understand (the comparisons to Celtic) and please don't think for one second I'm understating it.

"But at the end of the season come May, where do Rangers come in the league?

"We spoke at the beginning of the season about being highly competitive and learning and gelling as a team over the course of the season.

"So if we do that and grab second spot, will we have had a good season? You tell me."

The Rangers side who line up for the first derby clash to be staged at Ibrox in four-and-a-half years will bear little resemblance to the team thumped at Celtic Park.

Joey Barton's Gers career imploded in the wake of that defeat while Niko Kranjcar is now out for the season with a knee injury.

Defender Philippe Senderos has barely been trusted to play after a nightmare debut that day and the man who has largely replaced him, Clint Hill, is now rated alongside skipper Lee Wallace as having just a 50/50 chance of featuring following injuries.

But the manager insists his team have improved: "That was game five of the season - we've moved on from there," he said. "We brought in a number of players but there are players who won't be present this time.

"We've gelled as a squad. We are where we are in the league but we're delivering highly-competitive performances.

"Are we a better team than we were at the start of the season? Of course we are. When you've got new players coming in who have only played four games, of course you're going to be better.

"We're always striving to be better but we're in a good place right now."

Warburton also believes his team has now developed the mental strength required to cope with Saturday's seismic fixture.

He added: "Playing for a club of this stature, whether you are a senior pro or a young player, it takes time to learn how to deal with it.

"It takes time to understand how to deal with it when it's 0-0 after 20 minutes and the boos start.

"But we have a squad which is doing that. We're 19 games in - we're in a better position."

Warburton, meanwhile, is relieved his defensive options will not be diminished further with the news centre-back Rob Kiernan is free to face Celtic.

Press Association Sport, however, understands he is facing a possible misconduct charge after allegedly swinging a punch at St Johnstone's Steven Anderson.

TV pictures appear to show the Rangers defender aiming a jab at his Perth rival during Wednesday night's 1-1 draw at McDiarmid Park.

Anderson has already called on the Scottish Football Association to throw the book at the former Wigan centre-back, and compliance officer Tony McGlennan is reviewing the footage.

But no action can be taken before Saturday's Old Firm showdown at Ibrox. The rules for the SFA's fast-track hearings process state that the compliance officer has two working days to raise a complaint against a player accused of misconduct during a match, with the player's response due by the third working day.

That means it will be Monday before Kiernan will have to answer any potential charge.

But Warburton has defended his man, saying: "There's nothing in that.

"I've watched it again - it's a push. If you punish that there will be more judicial panels than you could possibly imagine."