MARTYN WAGHORN insists Rangers can nullify a “pretty basic” Hibs by stifling Scott Allan – if the playmaker is still with the Easter Road side when the teams square up on Saturday.

Rangers last night saw a bid for Allan thrown out by the Leith board as boss Mark Warburton looks to bolster his squad ahead of the new campaign, and it remains to be seen if the Gers will go back to the table in an attempt to land the highly-rated midfielder during the summer window.

Striker Waghorn faced Alan Stubbs’ side in a pre-season clash in La Manga earlier this month and scored twice in a 2-1 win for former club Wigan.

After clinching a move to Ibrox and making his debut in the friendly defeat to Burnley, the forward is now in line to make his competitive bow in the Capital this weekend.

Warburton’s side open their campaign with a Petrofac Training Cup tie against their main Championship title rivals and Waghorn is confident Rangers can get off to a winning start this season.

Waghorn said: “They were alright, pretty basic to be honest. Once you cut out the main man and stop them from playing that was it really.

“We’ll go to the gaffer and we’ll go through our tactics. They were alright, nothing great.

“Everything pretty much went through Allan. We counteracted that and pretty much got him out of the game, but it was a different type of game over there, it was a friendly, practice match and I’m sure it be a different challenge on Saturday.

“We’ll take nothing for granted and we’ll have our game plan and try to counteract them our way.”

The trip to Easter Road this weekend presents a tough start to life in the dugout for Warburton as he continues to reshape his squad and implement a new football philosophy.

And Waghorn is determined to emerge victorious against Stubbs’ side for the second time this month as he looks to get off and running in Light Blue.

He said: “It’s going to be a bit strange playing them twice in two weeks, but I’m sure it will be different circumstances. Obviously it was nice to get on the scoresheet twice.

“It will be a massive game on Saturday and we’re well aware of the challenge. Everyone’s raring to go. We want to do that (lay down a marker) no matter who we are playing. We are Rangers and everyone wants to come and beat us.

“So we’re just going to go there, play with freedom and enjoy it. It’s going to set a real standard for the whole season and how we go about our job.

“No matter who it is, Hibs or whoever, we’re going to go there to win and win as many as we can.”