Kenny Miller thinks new Rangers arrivals will keep players on their toes

Kenny Miller admits no one in the Rangers line-up can afford to think their place is safe even after hitting Dumbarton for six.

The veteran frontman bagged a hat-trick as the Ibrox men ran riot at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium with a 6-0 win.

It was Rangers' biggest win under manager Mark Warburton but with the Ladbrokes Championship race looking like it could go to the wire, the Englishman is set to add even more new faces to his squad in January.

He has already signed winger Harry Forrester from Doncaster until the end of the season for an undisclosed fee, while Polish goalkeeper Maciej Gostomski could follow this week.

A defender also remains high on Warburton's wish list but Miller warned no one is guaranteed a place in the side as he urged his team-mates to continue improving.

He said: When you're at a club and you get to a transfer window, you're always looking to strengthen and the manager says if the right player becomes available, then we'll be in for them.

If we strengthen then that will benefit the team.

The lads who have the jersey will be out to keep it, but it's up to them to keep performing, keep scoring goals, keep defending. It will serve a purpose of keeping the lads on their toes.

However, as long as we keep going the way we want, new lads will find it hard to get into the team.''

Miller scrambled home the opener against the Sons three minutes from half-time before scoring with a precision header after an hour.

He wrapped up his treble soon after by slotting past Dumbarton goalkeeper Mark Brown. Martyn Waghorn fired home the fourth while Andy Halliday also got in on the act with a deflected free-kick.

The best was saved till last though as full-back James Tavernier - who had set up two of Miller's goals on top of his assist for Waghorn - then rifled a 25-yard beauty into the top corner three minutes from time.

The thrashing of Dumbarton was another indication that Gers have recovered from their recent slump following last week's 4-2 win over title rivals Hibernian.

But Miller was pleased to see his side - who retain a three-point lead over Hibs, who are now down to third behind Falkirk on goal difference - cope with switching from the high of playing in front of a sell-out Ibrox last week to the more sedate surroundings at Dumbarton's one-stand home.

That was a brilliant start to the new year,'' he said.

After our big win at Hibs last week, it was crucial to come here, with a completely different atmosphere and do the job just as professionally. I'm absolutely delighted with the result.

We hope we keep getting stronger. We've come through a little poor spell of results where we knew the results weren't good enough and performances probably weren't up to scratch either.

The Hibs game came at a great time for us. It was a fantastic atmosphere and a really big game for us in the context of the season.

It came at a good time. I said before the Hibs game that I hoped we could kick on and go on a good run. Hopefully this was the start of it.''