Mark Warburton - Niko Kranjcar starting to have real impact for Rangers

Rangers manager Mark Warburton believes summer signing Niko Kranjcar is finding his rhythm just in time for Saturday's derby against Celtic.

Kranjcar scored a spectacular long-range goal in Rangers' 7-0 victory over Linfield on Saturday after taking time to adjust to life in Glasgow.

The 32-year-old played seven games for New York Cosmos this year before suffering a groin injury in late May and took time to get his match fitness at Ibrox.

The former Tottenham midfielder has shown signs of getting there - he came off the bench to create two goals against Motherwell on August 20 - and Warburton feels he has further stepped up a gear.

Warburton told Rangers TV: ''We know what Niko has got and technically he has outstanding ability and technically there are no doubts. Niko has worked so hard on his fitness and he was struggling a bit early and so was I and the rest of the team because we knew how hard he was working to get fit. Going away to New York and then coming back his timescale were slightly different but he has worked so very hard and you are now seeing over the last two weeks that he has come on and had a real impact which we wanted. You saw him (on Saturday) dominate the tempo of the game and his ability to open up defences and he'll be in good shape now.''

Josh Windass and Martyn Waghorn could both be involved in the Parkhead encounter on Saturday after making their comebacks from hamstring injuries against Linfield while former Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos got his first taste of action in a Rangers strip.

Warburton, who has injury concerns over defenders Danny Wilson and Lee Wallace, said: ''We have some tough decisions ahead of next weekend now and we have to have them. The squad always know it is about the squad and it has to be that way, it is a long season and there are four Old Firm games so there are a lot of games to look forward to and tough ones coming up. Don't forget it is the same three points, it's an important game but you don't get five points or six points on Saturday so it's important we focus on one game at a time.''

Kenny Miller struck four goals at Windsor Park in a testimonial for Linfield's Jamie Mulgrew.

Warburton, who started with midfielder Andy Halliday at left-back, said: ''It was a very worthwhile exercise for us and this is what we wanted to come over for. Don't misunderstand the scoreline because they are the type of teams you have to play in European games, the first rounds for example. We moved the ball quickly, did the basics well, and it was a good showing.''