AT the start of the season and before a ball was kicked, Mark Warburton knew the main priority was winning the Championship.

Anything on top of that was a bonus. Well, what a bonus winning the Scottish Cup would be.

Rangers couldn’t afford to spend another season in the second tier and we won’t, and we have won the Petrofac Cup as well, which was important.

The players had a taste of a final at Hampden in front of the Rangers fans, then they had the great day against Celtic. Now they can top the lot on Saturday against Hibernian.

It is fantastic to get to the Scottish Cup final and it is a massive bonus for Rangers. If we were to go on and win it, it would be way beyond their initial expectations.

To lift the major cup in Scotland and get into Europe for next season would put Mark’s side so far ahead of schedule and it would be great in terms of recruitment as well.

Mark is looking at Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar, but also a host of other players, and if you can offer guys of that calibre European football it is a real incentive for them to sign.

It is one thing to be back in the top flight, but it is another to be in Europe. There are a lot of players who never get anywhere near playing in the Europa League, so if Rangers did get there for next season that would certainly help Mark sell a move to potential recruits.

As he has said himself, once you get players to Ibrox and Murray Park and you can show them what is on offer being a Rangers player, that plays a huge part in any deal. Players want to play for big clubs like Rangers and a Scottish Cup win is another step in the right direction for us.

The board will be delighted with the job that Mark and David Weir have done, and they will be delighted with the efforts of the players this season. Not many people had heard of most of them last summer but they have come in and made a real impact.

To get where they are now at the end of their first campaign together is a terrific achievement. Getting into Europe would be beyond their wildest dreams and it would put Rangers well ahead of where they would have expected to be at this stage.

Rangers are back in the Premiership, but we are not yet back to where we should be. That will come next season hopefully.

The manager built a squad to get us out of the Championship and now he has to build one to win the Premiership. He will know the quality of player he needs and some of the names that have been linked show the level that he is looking at.

He will be looking for another four, five, six to come in to add to Matt Crooks, Josh Windass and Jordan Rossiter and Kranjcar and Barton are two big names that are on his list.

Joey may be 33 but there is no doubt he is still a very good player. He was instrumental for Burnley as they won promotion back to the Premier League and he was named in the Championship Team of the Year.

There is no doubt that he would revel in Scottish football if he did sign for Rangers. Mark knows he needs a bit of experience in the team to help the youngsters along.

Joey has been offered a deal by Burnley but is looking for a bit more security and that is why he is up here. He will get more money down south but if he feels he can play for another couple of years then Rangers can offer him that chance.

I don’t see this deal being about money. If it is, he won’t sign for Rangers because other clubs will be able to offer him bigger wages.

He has played in England and France and he, and other players, will see Scottish football as a challenge. Hearts are going to strengthen, Aberdeen will strengthen and Celtic will have to buy players, so it could be a really competitive and exciting league next year.

We need people that want to play for Rangers and help us win leagues, win cups and compete in Europe rather than coming here to fill their wallets.

Mark will have spoken to Sean Dyche about Barton and done his homework on him. He must have got positive reports and that is why he is going for him.

If Mark could get Joey, that would be fantastic. If not, he will have others in mind that he can go for and there will be more players arriving in the coming weeks.

I’m sure plenty of people are surprised that Rangers are looking at the likes of Barton and Kranjcar given the careers they have had but it shows how ambitious Mark is and the level of player he wants to bring to Ibrox.

The manager will know what 95% of Rangers Football Club is about. Next year will be different because we will be against Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts and there will be a new pressure from the supporters. He will really learn what Rangers is about at that stage.

The work he does over the summer will be crucial as to how we fare in the Premiership and how Mark is able to cope with a new set of demands and expectations on him.

Hopefully he is going into it with three medals to his name and he has another reason to celebrate at Hampden on Saturday.