Warburton Unsure Over Allan Pursuit
Mark Warburton has "no idea'' whether Rangers will make a third bid for Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan.
Photo by Jeff Holmes
Mark Warburton has "no idea'' whether Rangers will make a third bid for Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan.
Two attempts to land the 23-year-old have been rejected by the Easter Road club, with the second Ibrox offer of ÂŁ225,000 failing to impress.
Allan was named among the Hibs substitutes for the visit of their Championship rivals in the Petrofac Training Cup on Saturday and came on in the second half to cheers from both sets of fans when the home side were chasing the game which they ultimately lost 6-2.
Afterwards Hibees boss Alan Stubbs reiterated strongly that the player was not for sale.
Speaking at Hampden Park after his side were drawn away to Ayr United in the second-round of the competition, Gers boss Warburton was asked if a third bid would be going in.
"I have no idea," he said. "All I am worried about is my playing squad and my group of staff. That is my only concern.
"He is a Hibs player, he is not our player.
"It is disrespectful. I keep saying it, any manager or coach should never talk about another club's players and he is a Hibs player.
"Rangers are always looking to strengthen their squad. If we can add quality on or off the field we will do that.
"We have a good squad right now and our job is to work with them.
"Those boys did well on Saturday and that is my only concern."
Warburton claims his presence at the draw at the national stadium demonstrated how serious the Ibrox club are about winning the competition.
The former Brentford boss said: "You want to win any competition you enter. That is our aim.
"It is an exciting draw, I am looking forward to it. It will be a tough trip and a good challenge for us."
In the rest of the south section of the draw, Queen's Park will host Dumbarton, Queen of the South are at home to Livingston, while St Mirren travel to Annan Athletic.
In the north section of the draw, Stenhousemuir were drawn at home to Raith Rovers, Alloa Athletic will play host to Elgin City, Falkirk will welcome Peterhead while Dunfermline will travel to Forfar Athletic.