THROUGHOUT the history of Scottish football, the most renowned and successful managers have been notorious, dictatorial characters who ruled their players with a combination of fear and intimidation.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Jim McLean, Jock Stein and Jock Wallace, to name just four, were all well known for their authoritarian and confrontational approaches to their profession.

Mark Warburton no doubt harbours aspirations to emulate the accomplishments of those great men, both domestically and in European competition, with Rangers in the future.

The Englishman, though, will not be using the same despotic approach. The former City of London trader who has enjoyed such a positive start to his tenure at Ibrox believes the only way he can succeed is by adopting an entirely different strategy.

He has encouraged his charges to express their views on why their performance levels dipped in the Ladbrokes Championship match against Livingston last weekend at a series of meetings at Murray Park this week.

It is not an approach you could see McLean, the legendary United manager who transformed the Tannadice club into Scottish champions, approving of.

Yet, Warburton is confident involving his players so closely in his work will ensure they rediscover their best form and extend their record-breaking 10 game winning run against league rivals Dumbarton at the Cheaper Insurance Stadium this afternoon.

“The biggest thing nowadays is man-management because you’re dealing with a different type of player,” he explained.

“The guys who come from the academies are more forward than they used to be, they ask more questions. They’ve had a better education in terms of nutrition, rehabilitation, activation and everything else.

“They now ask questions when, 20 years ago, you’d have been too scared to do that for fear of getting a mouthful and a slap on the back of the head, but times have moved on.

“So, when those questions are put to you, you’ve got to be armed with the knowledge and you also have to realise what makes that individual player tick because every one of them is different.

“Rob Kiernan is different from Danny Wilson and our job - myself, David Weir, all the staff – is to find out what each player responds to.”

Warburton added: “My personal feeling is that those days of ruling by fear are long gone. I mean, we all love to hear those stories but it’s a different breed now and I don’t believe they respond to screaming and shouting.

“There were loads of people doing that in the City because it’s a high-pressure environment. In wasn’t like that, though. That’s not my way and nor is it David Weir’s.

“Obviously, if someone steps out of line then we’ll react in the right way but it’s okay for us to be questioned as long as it’s respectful. It’s got to be respectful: you can’t be rude to the manager or the coaches. But we’ve got to give them the tools and arm them with the information they need.

“They are going to ask questions. You are arming them with the tools when they come through these academies. The guys we had at Watford were in school and they are mixing with full-time professional gymnasts, basketball players, athletes, sprinters, so they are going to ask questions.

"You say: ‘Drink that shake’. They say: ‘Why? What’s in? Why should I take it?’’ Twenty years ago you just drank it. Now, it is: ‘Why am I taking it? Why am I eating that food?

“But I want them to ask questions. We as a group will move to the next level when we ask more questions because it shows they are inquisitive and they want to push the boundaries. What is my role? Why are you asking me to go there? Why should I attack him? Why should I overlap? The more they ask, the more they understand.”

The muted reaction to a 3-0 triumph highlights how well Rangers have fared since Warburton was appointed manager in the summer and the high expectations which supporters of the Ibrox club now have.

But the manager accepts that during the course of the 2015/16 campaign his side – who are, despite their impressive start, still only five points clear of a Falkirk side which has a game in hand - they will have to grind out victories.

“We are not downbeat,” he said. “We won 3-0 at home. It is an inquest into why we didn’t hit the standards we could. We felt the rhythm of our play last week wasn’t as good as it has been in previous matches. So why was that?

“The easiest thing to do would be to say: ‘3-0? Thanks very much.’ Then move onto the next one. If you are going to set a standard, everyone recognised, and the fans, that that wasn’t the level we have set. If we learn from it great. If we don’t then we have a problem.

“We just had a meeting, the players and the staff, about the expectations. They have set very high standard and the fans want to be entertained. They have been fantastic, but there will be days when things don’t go our way. But as long as there is 100% commitment and work rate, the fans will be happy.

“Any fan that pays money for a ticket and take their family along, they don’t want to see a player half-heartedly making a challenge. Whatever line of work you are in, there will be things when days just don’t go right.”