MARK Warburton last night denied the Ladbrokes Championship title was Rangers' to throw away after an 86th-minute goal from substitute Harry Forrester stretched their advantage over Hibs at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship table to 11 points with just 10 games to go. While the Englishman insisted this victory against St Mirren was "a huge three points" he will only feel that the Ibrox club are within touching distance of their return to the Scottish top flight if they can win their next five matches. With a William Hill Scottish Cup quarter final meeting with Dundee thrown in, the Ibrox side face Raith Rovers (twice), Morton, Falkirk and Queen of the South during that period.

“If we can do our job one game at a time, we will be in a good place," said Warburton. "There is a gap, a really good one for us but there are 30 points to play for. If we play the next five and win five then we are in good shape. Then you could almost taste it but right now there are still too many points to play for.?

“It was a really important three points, a huge three points," added the Englishman who also praised the impact of his goal hero and home debutant Michael O'Halloran. "But it is not [ours to throw away] because there are a lot of points to play for. Everything we do is geared towards Tuesday and Raith. We can’t control what goes on around us but we can control what we do. Thirty points is a lot of points to play for."

Goal hero Forrester, formerly of Doncaster Rovers, who was mobbed by his team-mates, savoured his first goal for the club since joining in January. "I think every goal is crucial when it gets you the three points," he said. "But I don't want to look too far. We have got a game again on Tuesday. But it was a great feeling. My first goal at Ibrox. A packed stadium out there. That is what is football is all about. That is why I play the game."