MARK WARBURTON has urged his Murray Park kids to rise to the challenge of the arrival of Premier League starlets in the battle for a Rangers berth.

The Light Blues boss has completed loan deals for Arsenal wonderkid Gedion Zelalem and Spurs pair Dominic Ball and Nathan Oduwa in recent days as he has again bolstered his Ibrox ranks.

Warburton is keen to dip into the Auchenhowie pool to give Rangers’ youngsters a chance to prove themselves in the first team arena this term.

But he insists they have high standards to match if they are to prevent top talents from other clubs coming in and making their mark.

He said: “It is not a balancing act, it is a challenge. The challenge to our Academy players is that you have got to be better than the guys we can get access to in the loan market. It is as simple as that.

“Our job is to put the best possible team out for Rangers Football Club. So if we can go to another club and get a young player for the right budgetary outlay that can impact our team ahead of an Academy player we will do it.

“The challenge, over the next 18 months and two years, is to make sure that we can produce the level of player that can match or better what we have access to.

“We will get there. There is no doubt Rangers will get there. The Academy is in great shape and we will get there.

“But, right now, that is the challenge to them. Look at the best young players coming from the Premier League clubs and you have to be better than them.”

As well as the three loan deals from England’s top flight, Warburton has also completed several permanent moves as he has overhauled his squad this summer.

He has added the likes of Rob Kiernan, James Tavernier, Martyn Waghorn and Jason Holt for a six-figure outlay and insists he doesn’t need to spend big in the transfer market.

Warburton said: “It is not about the size of a budget, it is how you utilise the budget.

“If you look at the leagues last year, of course top Premier League teams might be slightly different, but for us last year, we never had the biggest budget in the Championship.

“There are many teams who use their budget wisely. It is how you use your budget, how you allocate the funding, how you balance your squad in terms of young to medium to older players, the mentoring role of senior players, what it costs to take them on board, what they can give away from the pitch and on the pitch.

“It is using your whole budget. It is not just about the biggest number, it is about the best use of what you have available.”