Frank McParland relishing the biggest challenge of his career after being reunited with Warburton and Weir at Rangers

Having picked up the pieces of a failed Championship campaign, Warburton is building for a brighter future at Ibrox. The foundations are in place and the blueprint, he hopes, will become a masterplan.

He now has another pair of hands on site, a friend and colleague, after McParland was reunited with his former Brentford compatriots last month.

The Griffin Park club may not have stuck with the trio long enough to fully reap the rewards, but Rangers could now benefit from their methods and their vision.

McParland stepped down from a position at Burnley to join Warburton and Weir at Ibrox, his appointment as Head of Recruitment a coup for club as the man who has also held key roles at Bolton and Liverpool made the move across the border.

His track record is impressive, his remit wide ranging and, he hopes, his success significant as he attempts to play his part in the Rangers revival.

“It’s pretty much a blank canvas,” McParland said. “Mark and David have done really well in bringing in players in the summer but they have had to do most of it themselves.

“They’ve been dealing with agents and clubs because there is no real scouting network at the club. That’s for me to get my head around and build up eventually.

“I’ve got my own contacts but I won’t discount anyone to be honest. We are not going to sign 20 players.

"If we sign two or three in this window it would be brilliant for me. We are looking to bed two or three in now and then more in the summer.

“We don’t want to be at the stage of bringing in seven or eight players in the summer.

“I don’t think we’ll need to as it’ll be a case of bringing in a few bits of quality in January to freshened up and add to the quality already here.”

The chance to work with two of his closest friends in the game proved too great an opportunity to turn down for McParland as he left Turf Moor after a short spell as Sporting Director.

His personal relationships with Warburton and Weir don’t diminish the professional challenges he faces, though.

Rangers have made significant steps on the road to recovery, but great strides can still be taken.

“I would say this is my biggest challenge of my career,” McParland said. “If you look at where the club has been to now, hopefully we can push the club on.

“Warbs and David are trying to implement an infrastructure around it and hopefully I can help with that.

“It’s a big challenge. You don’t just want to be competing for the Championship. It’s the Premiership and then you are looking to try to get in to Europe.

“It’s about bringing in the right sort of players. Mark wants young players, who are technically good and will run through brick walls for you. Those are the ones who’ll help us push on.”

The arrival of McParland is another crucial step in the right direction for Rangers, the former Liverpool chief scout and Academy Director filling a role that had been unmanned for a couple of years amid the turmoil at Ibrox.

Warburton’s success as manager will be defined by his recruitment and he has shown he has an eye for a player already, the likes of James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn plucked from Wigan and becoming instant hits in the Championship.

The next wave of signings will be crucial for Rangers and McParland is confident that, together, the right calls will be made.

“It must’ve been difficult [working with no scouting department]. Coming from my background, at Liverpool we must have had 30 scouts around the world,” he said.

“Liverpool is a same level of club to this one. I look around this club and it reminds me of Liverpool.

“The football side of things here is absolutely massive. You come in and there are seven photographers waiting. At Brentford it was pretty low key.

“From a scouting point of view it must’ve been very difficult for the club.

“It was always on the cards, myself the manager and David would work together again. I really feel we have a great bond between the three of us.

“We trust each other implicitly, we are honest with each other and all on the same wavelength when it comes to players.

“Very rarely do I like a player Mark doesn’t. I have to be honest and say they were the draw.

“But the fact the club is such a massive institution was also a major part of it.”

There was always a hope, if not an expectation, from Gers fans that McParland would eventually one day follow Warburton and Weir’s path to Ibrox following their appointment in June.

Having got their man, McParland’s talents are now being put to good use. Attentions are firmly fixed on January, while thoughts have also turned to the summer for when Rangers hope to be preparing for the Premiership.

“Normally we are on the same wavelength,” the Liverpudlian said of his discussions with Warburton and Weir.

“I don’t think there have been any players where we have had major differences of opinion.

“Not every player I’ve recommended will sign; that’s not the case. But once we’ve done loads and loads of work on it and it gets to the manager we are waiting for the green light to do it.

Picture courtesy of Brentford FC

“I don’t always get the green light to do it. If he doesn’t want the player we won’t go anywhere near it, we wouldn’t do it because he is the manager.

“David is on the same wavelength so the three of us would sit down with the analyst and then go to the board and say ‘this is what we would like to do’ or from there it might be that we don’t want to do it and we push on with something else.”