THEY say it is not about what you know, but who you know ... Mark Warburton has both bases covered.

His journey from a desk in the City to the top of the Marble Staircase at Ibrox has had several stops along the way, and now Warburton has the chance to put the knowledge and the names to good use at Rangers.

It is an opportunity that has been a long time coming, but one that Warburton is determined to make the most of as he continues to live the dream he set out to realise when he decided to swap the financial district for the football pitch more than a decade ago.

His quest saw him travel the world in search of ideas and inspiration, visit the biggest clubs and cross paths with the most influential people as he looked to enhance his understanding of the game and prepare himself for any big break that would come his way.

It is for his successes as Brentford boss that he is most well-known, but the foundations were laid many years before in Academy roles with Watford and the Bees, and as part of the NextGen series that re-shaped youth football in Europe. It was while working with Inside Soccer, an online training academy, that Warburton met producer and director Justin Andrews, and soon the NextGen series, with Matthew Benham also on board, was born.

The competition saw Warburton and Andrews travel across the globe as friendships were made and philosophies shared, the meticulous approach to coaching, education and player development crucial to Warburton’s personal evolution.

Having reaped the rewards of those experiences at Brentford, he now has a chance to take it to the next level at Ibrox after being charged with restoring Rangers to their former glory.

“Mark’s contacts are around the world,” Andrews told SportTimes.

“They are not light contacts, they are contacts you are embedded with for a long time.

“Mark genuinely does have very good friendships with those clubs. They are not just contacts, they are friends.

“It is not just one or two either. He was looking to share his ideas and expand his knowledge.

“It was not formed on a one or two-day visit and a ‘hello, how are you?’ He is very well connected.

“Some of his ideas and thinking was incredible. I did some work in Europe and I had the sessions that he had done and I was showing them to coaches at Sporting Lisbon and Inter Milan.

“They asked me ‘who is this guy? Who has done these sessions?’ Mark knows what he is doing.”

Having put in the hours, racked up the air miles and honed his skills on the touchline, Warburton has now been presented with his biggest challenge in the game.

Just weeks after taking Brentford to within touching distance of the English Premier League, he, alongside assistant David Weir, must now build a squad capable of taking Rangers to the Premiership this season.

Life at Ibrox is a different prospect to that at Griffin Park, but Andrews knows Warburton’s core traits will stand him in good stead.

“He is the man you want in your corner,” he said.

“We have all got groups of mates and there is a guy that everyone wants to turn up. That is Mark. That is him.

“He holds things together. He talks about small squads and he keeps players motivated.

“What you want is to be in that group and in that team. His teams play football like you want to watch football.”

In Warburton’s formative years as a coach, it was young talents – such as Rob Kiernan, the defender he signed from Wigan on Monday – he took under his wing as his methods on paper were put into practice on the pitch.

His model will come under intense scrutiny in the coming weeks and months as the spotlight is turned on him and he looks to lead Rangers to the Championship title.

Who, and how, he recruits will be crucial to his chances, but Andrews, a producer with Twelfth Man in London, is confident Warburton will impress a hard-to-please Ibrox crowd.

“Mark knows what he is doing and what he has to build there,” he said.

“He hasn’t got much time, but he will do it. I think you guys are in for some fun.

“Mark will get Rangers a good team, he likes young players and likes to play football on the ground. Football should be exhilarating, and he will make people happy.

“When you walk away, you think ‘we could have done that or we should have done that’ but it will be entertaining football.

“They will be on a journey under Mark. He might not win everything, but he will give it his best shot and, win, lose or draw, people will be entertained.”

Warburton may have arrived at Ibrox on a wave of goodwill from supporters and with his stock in the game as high as it has ever been, but there will be no prolonged honeymoon period this season.

Failure is not an option for Rangers as they not only bid for the Cham- pionship title, but look to build for a Premiership challenge sooner rather than later.

Andrews saw Warburton – a defender with Enfield and Boreham Wood in his playing days – honed his coaching and management skills over several years before being given his chance to shine as boss at Griffin Park.

And he is confident the Londoner will make the most of the latest opportunity that has come his way and repay the faith shown in him by the Ibrox board.

Andrews said: “As a Rangers fan you could be thinking ‘who is this guy’. But he has got the game in his DNA.

“He is such a good sounding board when it comes to youth development and changing the game. He wants to change the game.

“NextGen changed youth football forever. Football is crying out for that, players need a change.

“Matthew Benham took a risk with Mark. Not because he didn’t know what he could do, but because nobody knew who he was and he didn’t know what the fan reaction would be.

“He was given the opportunity and he gave it back. Now he has a great opportunity at Rangers. He will knuckle down and you are going to have a great season there.”