MARK Warburton insists his sole focus is on running the football department at Rangers and not yesterday's Court of Session ruling on the club's previous use of Employment Benefit Trusts. The Englishman spoke to the media yesterday a day after a court ruled that the oldco club's former practice of paying players via benefit trusts between 2001 and 2010 was in breach of tax regulations but the 53-year-old said that he was too focused on attempting to win promotion back to the Ladbrokes Premiership to be sidetracked by any of the other debates affecting the club. Despite his previous existence as a city trader, Warburton also said he wasn't qualified to venture an opinion on the club's recent financial figures, which revealed that the club had racked up an annual loss of £7.5m and require an additional £2.5m to see out the season.
"It’s very important that we don’t lose our focus, as a group of staff, as a group of players," said Warburton. "We know what our tasks are. Anything else, without being disrespectful to it, is not our area of expertise – so we would never wander into it. My previous occupation? I’m not clever enough to talk about things like that. No, no, the trading markets are not about that. My business here is football, it has to be that way. I hear so many stories – but our job here is keeping the fans happy."
Regardless of the financial situation at the club, Warburton - who has yet to hear whether on-loan Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem will remain at the club beyond January - is hoping to add two further players to his squad, with 20-year-old Manchester City midfielder George Glendon arriving yesterday for the club to assess in training.
"We are more than confident that we can get those boys in," said Warburton. "It is only one or two. Every player that we have gone for since we have arrived at this club has been secured. So the backing we are getting from the board and the owner couldn't be better. I talk to Stewart, [Robertson, the chief executive] Andrew [Dickson, the club's head of football administration], and Dave [King, the chairman] every single day and at numerous times of the day. It is about knowing what our squad is, our profile, where we are weak, where we might be stronger. As long as those lines of communication are clear then we are fine."
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