Focus on your own club! Mark Warburton hits back at Alan Stubbs' claim that Rangers have four times the player budget of Hibs 

  • Rangers top the Scottish Championship having won 12 of 13 games
  • Only second place Hibernian have taken points off Ibrox outfit this term
  • Alan Stubbs claims Rangers have budget four times that of his Hibs' side
  • Mark Warburton replied saying 'they are picking out numbers from the sky'

By John Mcgarry For The Scottish Daily Mail

Published: 17:42 EST, 15 November 2015 | Updated: 17:42 EST, 15 November 2015

Mark Warburton has angrily hit out at Alan Stubbs’ claim that Rangers spend four times as much on players as Hibs.

The Easter Road side closed the gap on the Championship leaders to five points by defeating them two weeks ago and can reduce that margin by a further three points if they beat Livingston at home on Tuesday night.

Speaking after the 2-1 win at Easter Road, Stubbs claimed that Rangers were exactly where they should be on account of their vastly superior resources.

Rangers boss Mark Warburton has hit back at Hibs manager Alan Stubbs over claims the Ibrox outfit have a budget four times as big as their nearest rivals in the Scottish Championship table

Rangers boss Mark Warburton has hit back at Hibs manager Alan Stubbs over claims the Ibrox outfit have a budget four times as big as their nearest rivals in the Scottish Championship table

The Hibs boss stated: ‘We’re close to Rangers and you’ve got to remember that their budget is significantly bigger than anyone else in the league.

‘I’d say it’s at least four times bigger than ours, so they should be out there in front.

‘Mark Warburton has done a really good job. They’ve had a fantastic start, so for us to only be five points behind speaks volumes about how we’ve done.’

Responding to Stubbs’ claim for the first time, however, Warburton suggested his Easter Road counterpart had got his figures badly wrong.

And he also took a swipe at his Easter Road counterpart for his claim earlier this season that the economics at Rangers made managing the club easy.

‘Number one, I’m not sure where they’re finding their information from, again they are just picking numbers out of the sky,’ Warburton said.

Stubbs has praised his Hibs team for being only five points behind Rangers after 13 games of the season

Stubbs has praised his Hibs team for being only five points behind Rangers after 13 games of the season

‘Number two, I heard previously managing Rangers was a really easy job. That’s what I was told earlier.

‘In that respect, I think it’s really important you talk about your own club — that’s not being rude.

‘I’ll be answering questions about Rangers. I wouldn’t for the life of me talk about another football club for the wrong reasons.

Rangers have won 12 of their opening 13 games in the Scottish Championship

Rangers have won 12 of their opening 13 games in the Scottish Championship

‘To talk about budgets? We have a smaller budget then Brentford had last year when we finished fifth in the Championship.

‘Again, the focus is talk about your own team.’

Despite Hibs’ remarkable league run of nine wins and a draw since losing at Ibrox in August, Warburton has been keen to reassure his players that they still hold the whip hand in the title contest.

‘Let’s be honest, the players read what the media produces,’ he added.

‘They’ll see 'it’s a disaster you’re only five points clear at the top'. That’s what we said to them. Everyone would agree that Hearts ran away with it last year.

‘Danny Wilson and Jason Holt are sitting there. But we are one point better off then they were at this stage.

‘That’s how bad we are doing. That’s not in an arrogant way. That’s just us saying to the players – don’t lose confidence or the belief in what you are doing.

‘You’re doing ok right now. You’ve lost one game of football – a game we felt we should have got something out of.’

Rangers' only defeat of the season came at Hibernian, as Stubbs' side won 2-1 at the start of November , with Jason Cummings firing home the opening goal for the Edinburgh side

Rangers' only defeat of the season came at Hibernian, as Stubbs' side won 2-1 at the start of November , with Jason Cummings firing home the opening goal for the Edinburgh side

Meanwhile, Rangers have announced that car tycoon Douglas Park has joined the Ibrox board for a second time.

The businessman became a director following the Extraordinary General Meeting in March that saw Dave King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan wrestle control from the former regime – primarily the Easdale brothers and representatives of Mike Ashley.

Park stepped down from his position in August due to business commitments, however, and was replaced in the boardroom by his son Graeme.

The Parks Motor Group chief – one of the Three Bears consortium alongside George Letham and George Taylor – has now returned to the club and Graeme Park will also retain his place.

He said: ‘It is a privilege to be asked to become a director of this club and it was always my intention to return. I am confident the club is on the correct path and I am delighted that I am now able to return and help take Rangers forward into what I believe will be a bright future for the club and the supporters.’

 

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