Rangers are back in the top flight of Scottish football, and after a decent run of results of late, their supporters propping up the bar in the Transfer Tavern are reasonably happy.

The Gers have had a few wobbles on their way back to the summit, with some even questioning whether Mark Warburton is still the man to take the club forward.

But with things now going in their favour again, especially after a convincing 3-0 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox last weekend, Gers fans should be well and truly looking towards the future.

However, despite things going on the up again, there have been players in this side that haven’t performed to the required level just yet this season.

We’ve seen some shaky stuff, with the 5-1 league defeat to Celtic standing out amongst the rest. Even the landlord in here wasn’t impressed, and he’s somewhat of a Gers supporter somewhere down the line!

So with that in mind, should the manager be looking to let a couple of names go?

Here’s two players Warburton must loan out in January…

Joey Barton

He’s back in training after a spell away from the club with discipline issues but the whole Joey Barton drama has left somewhat of a bad taste in the mouth.

We’ve seen it time-and-time again from the Englishman, his passion boiling over or at times, his downright inability to keep his mouth shut.

This is a young Rangers team who won’t reach the dizzy heights of ten years ago right away.

Could Barton take away some of the shine that has come from their rise to the top?

Matt Crooks

Matt Crooks came to Ibrox alongside Josh Windass last season but he hasn’t quite had the same effect as his former Accrington team mate.

Still, he’s featured only twice this season and at 22-years-old, he needs to be out there playing games in order to improve his game.

A loan spell back in England might be best, where he can pick up some regular match action in the eventual hope he can break into the Rangers first-team.