Confusion at Rangers after Warburton reportedly denies resigning

The position of Rangers manager Mark Warburton has been thrown into doubt after he reportedly denied resigning just minutes after the club announced his departure.

The Scottish Premiership side released a statement on Friday to say that they had accepted the resignation of Warburton, assistant manager David Weir and head of recruitment Frank McParland.

The club said that all three had "been notified in writing that their notices of termination have been accepted" following a board meeting at Ibrox. Under-20s coach Graeme Murty was announced as interim boss for Sunday's match against Greenock Morton in the Scottish Cup fifth round.

"The board is very appreciative of the good work previously done by the management team but believes it had no alternative," Rangers said. "Our club must come first and absolute commitment is essential."

However, BBC Scotland later reported that Warburton was unaware of the statement and would be consulting his legal team over the matter.

The positions of Warburton, 54, and McParland have come under scrutiny following a poor run of results, with Rangers having won only one of their last five league matches.

They sit third in the table after 24 matches, a huge 27 points behind leaders Celtic.