Mark Warburton has been warned that he must hold on to second place in the SPFL or face the axe.
There were scenes of celebrations and high fiving at Ibrox on Saturday as Warbo’s side beat Kilmarnock to leap over Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Hearts- neither of whom could muster a win- into second spot.
Saturday’s match had been preceded by the the Rangers International (Sevco) annual report in which Dave King recorded his expectation of significant returns from the second largest budget in the country.
Warbo could barely disguise his glee at moving into second place but better hold on to that spot if he is to another shot at Mr King’s summer warchest.
Writing in Paul Murray’s favourite newspaper, the Daily Record, Keith Jackson notes: “It’s commonly acknowledged in football circles that the most important relationship in any club is that between the manager and chairman.
“If that’s the case then Warburton may be in bigger trouble than anyone suspects because Dave King remains even further out of the Englishman’s line of sight than Rodgers and Celtic.
“The reclusive King is a notoriously difficult character with which to deal. A distant, cold fish of an owner who would rather communicate behind an email account than fork out for a long distance phonecall, never mind use up air miles to actually deal with the manager in person.
“As a result, there is hardly a relationship to speak of between the pair of them and that may well be a source of discomfort for Warburton as the clock ticks down towards the January transfer window.
“Having clambered into the sanctuary of second place in the Premiership on Saturday with a timely romp over Kilmarnock, Warburton’s long term job security will depend entirely upon him clinging onto it for dear life between now and May.
“He can forget about catching Celtic. That good ship Brendan has long since sailed.”
Despite the joy of being in second place if Celtic win their game in hand, at home to Partick Thistle, Sevco will be closer to the bottom of the table than the top in terms of points.
On Saturday Warbo takes his side to Dingwall to face Ross County who have lost four goals in each of their last two matches.
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