Mark Warburton is no longer Rangers manager after a week of sensational behind the scenes manoeuvres which saw the former Brentford boss and his assistant, David Weir, and head of recruitment, Frank McParland, have their resignations accepted by the Ibrox board before their agent attempted to have them reinstated.

Confusion intensified on Friday night after reports suggested Warburton had denied he had resigned his post.

Telegraph Sport, though, can reveal that Warburton and Weir were on the verge of dismissal – they would almost certainly have been gone next week – but by offering their resignations they have saved the club around £700,000. The contorted drama began on Tuesday when Warburton’s agent, Dave Lockwood, approached the Ibrox directors and asked for the trio to be released from their contracts, which had almost another year to run.

The Rangers board convened on Wednesday and agreed to accept the management team’s resignations and the deal was agreed. They were, however, stunned to be approached by Lockwood again and asked if all three could remain in their posts.