Rangers will do what they need to keep Mark Warburton - Stewart Robertson

Rangers will do what they have to do to keep hold of boss Mark Warburton, according to managing director Stewart Robertson.

Reports on Thursday morning claim the Ibrox side are so keen to ensure the Englishman is not tempted back down south that they are ready to offer him a new deal which doubles his wages.

Robertson knows the former Brentford boss' stock is high after leading Rangers to the Ladbrokes Championship and Petrofac Training Cup during his first campaign in Glasgow.

And he admitted if the Light Blues do not act, it will only encourage rival clubs to enquire about the availability of the Rangers manager and his number two Davie Weir.

He said: "Mark and Davie have done a fantastic job. We want to see them both stay here for as long as we can.

"In any walk of life, if somebody is doing well they attract suitors. We need to address that so we will do what we have to do to make sure Mark and Davie stay here for a long time."

Robertson hopes this week's signing of midfielder Joey Barton from Burnley will also help persuade Warburton his long-term future should lie north of the border.

And he promised there will be further investment in the Ibrox squad in the coming weeks as Rangers limber up for the resumption of top-flight hostilities with Celtic.

"It's a big statement of intent from the club," he said.

"We always said the season just gone was about promotion. That was the key objective.

"We now need to add quality and some depth to the squad that is there to make sure we have a proper go at competing for the Premiership title next season.

"The club is on a journey and every single player we bring in we have be able to justify that there is value.

"There is no doubt Joey Barton brings huge value to Rangers and it will be the same with any other player we bring in, they need to represent value.

"There will be a few new faces coming in, hopefully before pre-season, because we know a few have left. We need to strengthen because we're going up a level now."

Clyde Sport understands that Barton's weekly wage packet will contain as much as £20,000 but Robertson insisted that does not mean Rangers have put all their eggs in one basket.

"Our recruitment is very much done on a player-by-player basis," he explained.

"Mark comes to us and lays out the value he believes his targets will bring to the team.

"We don't have a budget as such. We wait for the players to be brought to us and assess whether we want to go for them and get a deal done.''

Defeat in last weekend's Scottish Cup final to Hibernian also cost Rangers a return to European action.

With the club still losing around #5million a year, the cash generated by a run to the Europa League group stage could have come in handy.

However, Robertson insists missing out on the UEFA jackpot has not limited their ambitions for next season.

He said: "The club is being run very tightly. It's been run on a very tight cost base.

"We have got the investors there and they are standing behind the club, to the extent of any funding that is required.

"The Europa League would have been a bonus but it was never part of the planning. If we'd got in great, it would have been a fantastic step forward for us.

"But we're on plan so that's fine and we will move forward to next season."

Robertson was speaking after helping to launch Club 1872, a new united supporters' group.

Formed following the merger of a number of smaller groups, Robertson believes the new body will allow the Ibrox faithful to speak with a "unified voice".

He added: "The fans are there to hold this board to account and make sure what happened before doesn't happen again. They are totally independent of the club but we will be working closely with th