MARK WARBURTON has always had a quality over quantity approach to his Rangers blueprint. Now he hopes his final two signings of the summer will be the final pieces to complete his Ibrox rebuilding job.

After eight players headed for the exit door at the end of last season, nine have come in so far as Warburton has enjoyed a productive summer in the transfer market.

Deals for former England defender Joleon Lescott and striker Joe Garner will complete his shopping spree and he will have the squad in place that, he hopes, will challenge for the Premiership title this term.

And Warburton is pleased with the progress that has been made in just a few weeks as prepares to welcome his tenth and eleventh recruits on board.

He said: “Whatever the fee, the deal [for Garner] is not done yet. We are talking hypothetically.

“But Stewart Robertson, Andrew Dickson and I will discuss every player to death and do every bit of research you can imagine.

“The relationship with Stewart and Andrew is really tight and we speak several times a day every day. The board have backed us magnificently well.

“As long as we can communicate with the board and tell them our thought process I think it’s important we do that. Up until now they have been fantastic.

“We probably have one more player than last year. Two if we get both in. It’s still a very lean squad. It has to be.

“Our old owner at Brentford used to say 20% of your squad is unavailable through injury and suspension.

“David Weir and I always felt it was nearer 10% - he (Matthew Benham) was the maths guy.

“So in a squad of 23 right now we can say Jason Holt, Crooks, Windass, etc have been out. But the numbers are about right as it stands.

“If you have a squad of 23 or 24 and you are missing two or three players you are down to 21. It’s still tight. There will be one or two disappointed if everyone is fit, but it has to be that way.”

The fee for Garner – around £1.5million – will represent the biggest outlay of the Warburton era at Ibrox.

While the likes of Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar arrived on Bosman deals, compensation was paid for Jordan Rossiter and Joe Dodoo, who signed from Liverpool and Leicester respectively.

But Warburton insists the risks and rewards are the same no matter what the financial terms and conditions are.

He said: “Whether you take a player for free or £10-£12million you are using your judgment and exploring every avenue the best you can.

“We are doing our research and the due diligence has to be appropriate.

“Does the player fit in? Does he have the technical and physical attributes? Does he have the character and self-belief? Does he mix well?

‘’What is his record in previous dressing rooms? Is he one that has caused problems?

“He may have an edge on the field, but does he cause problems within the dressing room?

“If there is something there that puts a cross in the box then we won’t proceed.

“But you have a trust your judgment. We have done that before.”

Warburton has surprised many with the deals he has been able to complete this summer and the moves for Barton and Kranjcar in particular are coups for the Ibrox boss.

The deal to bring Lescott north of the border is another significant one for Rangers and highlights the progress Warburton’s side have made in recent months.

And the 53-year-old knows he must continue to strive for improvement at all times to ensure Rangers take further steps in the right direction.

Warburton said: “We have got to keep pushing forward. I said it a number of times last year that the moment we stop moving forward we’re finished.

“That is a factor. Clubs around you will keep moving forward. They all will. If they don’t they will pay the price.

“We can’t afford to become complacent or rest on our laurels. There are no laurels to rest on right now.

“What we have to do is take the club and really keep pushing. We have to get the best possible players.

“That’s what we have to do. The players here recognise that.

“The most confident players, the most assured players, the players who believe in their own ability, want better players to come to the club.

“Yes and no [having Barton and Kranjcar already here helped us]. The key thing is we have got to sell the club.

“You want a player to see the opportunity here. That’s what you want. You don’t want a player coming here because so and so is here.

“He has got to see it himself, ask the right questions and be reassured by what you say.

“The right players have options so we have to sell the club and hope very much he sees it. If the player doesn’t see what we’ve got to sell then then it’s the wrong player.”