Mark Warburton backs Steven Gerrard to lift title with Rangers ahead of Old Firm

There was, among old-time dealers in the older-time city, a lucrative variant on the pain-pleasure principle. It ran, crudely, something like this: When the seller is feeling the pain, buy at one's pleasure.

Mark Warburton famously travelled from the dealing room to the dressing room but he is aware that he did not have to be a currency trader to feel the two sides of the pain-pleasure coin on one remarkable day.

On April 17, 2016, Rangers defeated Celtic in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup on penalties after extra-time. Warburton was, thus, the last manager to lead a team to victory over Celtic in a domestic cup competition. The euphoria did not come without a nagging pain that rendered sleep difficult.

Sitting in Hale, outside London, after a training session with his players at Queens Park Rangers, the 57-year-old Englishman ranges over several topics: The difficulty in securing a job in top-flight football, his belief that Rangers will win the title this season, his admiration for Alfredo Morelos and why the Colombian is a buy in trader terms, the need to adapt to owners at the club and why he always investigates the theory that the failure of many coaches is that they don't know what they don't know.

The afternoon in the shadow of the Heathrow flight path is thus full of intrigue and fascination. But it is three days of drama - two on the football pitch, one in a city office - that perhaps capture the spirit of Warburton.

The first was that win at Hampden. 'I knew what it meant to the Rangers fans in terms of where they had been as a club, the way they had been treated as a club. It was great to give them that day,' he says.

'The fans had been magnificent. We had won the Championship. That's great. We had filled Hampden with blue in the Petrofac Cup final. That's great. But that afternoon... beating players on multiple wages in regards to what you had, Dom Ball on a couple of grand up against guys on 10 times that and more. Nine times out of 10, we will lose that game - 99 times out of 100, we lose that game.

'But when Tom Rogic walked up to take that penalty (for Celtic), I heard the whole blue end sing. I turned to Davie Weir and said: "He has to score in this noise"?' The Australian did not.

Warburton (congratulating Nicky Clark, above and applauding his players, above, right) celebrated with his staff and team. He says: 'I could haven't been more pleased for Andy Halliday, Kenny Miller, Lee Wallace, the Scots boys who knew precisely what it was all about. I was pleased, too, for Davie Weir and Jim Stewart, guys with integrity and substance.' But another feeling intruded as the night wore on. He explains: 'I was worried about the expectation. I knew we would not be in a position immediately to challenge.

'Look, Celtic went on to sign (Moussa) Dembele. Serious money - agency fee, big wages, big sign-on, chunk of transfer as a goodbye present.

'I was thinking: "We haven't got the money to go against them. Our budget is still very, very low".' The criticism that greeted this rational conclusion was that Warburton did not know the reality of football in Scotland where Rangers had to not only be competitive, but triumphant.

'Lying in bed that night, I knew we had to address those expectations. Yes, we had to enjoy the moment but we had to be reasonable.

'It's not about lacking ambition, it's not about not understanding the size of Rangers or what the club is about. I am not a fool. I got a lot of abuse about not getting it. I got it. Of course, I know how big the club is. But I also know football. We are going to smash Celtic? Financial logic tells you that is not on.' Another match against their great rivals proved not only a chance to learn but, perhaps, a tipping point. Rangers lost 5-1 at Celtic Park on September 10, 2016, just five months on from the glory at Hampden.

Warburton, perhaps channelling his inner trader, went for broke at 3-1 down when defender Philippe Senderos was sent off.

'With an injury, we were basically down to nine men. I brought on (midfielder) Harry Forrester. I felt we still had a chance, if we scored the next goal, then maybe apprehension might kick in.' Instead, Celtic romped away with the match.

'I was told later that I should have brought on Clint Hill, shored up, and taken the 3-1,' he says. 'That result had an effect on the atmosphere surrounding the club. I got caned. I should have been more pragmatic.' The mindset of his employers was becoming starkly clear.

'The reality is that the board would not respond to the financial landscape,' adds Warburton.

'It was about the gap to Celtic. There was no other thinking. It was: How far are we behind Celtic? I learned about that side of management.' Nine months after the victory at Hampden, he was gone from Ibrox. The circumstances of his departure have been contested but he says simply: 'We weren't given a chance. It was frustrating.

'You never walk away from a club like Rangers, you never resign from a club like Rangers.'

It was a day of overwhelming victory. 'We had the ball,' says Warburton, reflecting on a shift in the dealing room in 1998 when he and his colleagues achieved a result that was measured in seven figures and coloured in black. A day of intensive trading on the yen had produced enormous profit.

'I miss the old city,' says Warburton, but his skills were transferred smoothly into football. An advertisement in a local paper summarised him as a young man and describes him as an experienced manager. It read: Highly competitive individual needed, must be good with numbers.

'My mum said: "That's you,"' he recalls. His career in the city had started after his playing life had stalled because of injury. He took much of his previous life into his new adventures.

'You come in with fresh ideas. I was, perhaps, foolishly brave,' he admits. It paid a dividend. He had success at Brentford, he took Rangers into the Premiership and a Scottish Cup final and then guided Nottingham Forest away from the relegation zone.

'But I also learned something important along the way,' he insists.

'What happened at Brentford? We disagreed on a way forward. But they are the owners.

'Forest? They loved a clean sheet above everything else. But they are the owners.

'Rangers? I have discussed that and they are the owners. I have to look at my ethos, my philosophy and make sure it is aligned with the owners.' He was sacked by Forest on Hogmanay 2015. He was hired by QPR in May this year.

'The gap between Forest and QPR taught me that there are only so many jobs in football. You will see very good people, better people than me, without jobs,' he says.

'I went to a League Managers' Association event and guys like Craig Shakespeare and Sam Allardyce aren't working.

'It is hard for British coaches to get jobs. If you don't try to understand the thinking of your board, then you won't work.' Warburton's mantra of coaches not knowing what they don't know is explained.. 'In one match, I thought Tav (James Tavernier) was very poor one v one but I had invited representatives of an English Premier League club to the game.

'They were saying: "Wow" at his performance, praising his delivery and the way he was going forward.

'Here's another. The staff wanted to play Billy Gilmour (now with Chelsea) in a match against what was a Dundee reserve side with several first-team players in it.

'I thought there was a health-and-safety issue because he was so small playing against these men. I could only see his size. But Billy played and he was the best on the park by a mile.

'So I learned that there were things you had to ask yourself. Do you understand what you are looking at? Do you understand what it makes to be a class player? Do you understand what it takes to improve a player?

'It changed me. You work with a player every single day and become entrenched in your views. It is very hard to shake off that first impression but you have to. A fresh set of eyes can help. I love inviting down other coaches and asking them what they think.' And what does he think of Rangers now? 'I believe strongly they will win the title,' he declares. 'Steven (Gerrard) and Michael Beale have done a great job and the level of investment has increased.

'They are on a more level-playing field with Celtic now. The Celtic squad last year was too strong but I felt this would be the year in terms of Rangers becoming stronger.

'They have better players now such as Ryan Jack, Connor Goldson, who I tried to sign from Brighton, and Steven Davis.' He is fascinated by the rise of Morelos, saying: 'I go back to my comments about coaches looking at what players can't do. They may look at his short fuse but his temperament has improved.

'The most important aspect of his play is that he scores goals. You hear things like he was disappointing until he hit two late goals.

'Believe me, there will be Premier League clubs looking at him. There may be a risk in signing him but there could be a massive reward.' The pain-pleasure principle returns after an afternoon of natter.

The Morelos factor and more is assessed by a coach, but there are more than echoes of the city trader in the verdicts of a man determined to raise the stock of QPR.