During a recent press conference, Ally McCoist became assertive as he talked about what the summer might bring.
"I know what's needed in the short term and what's required in the long term," he said. "Contrary to what's been said, I do have a plan." This Rangers team is a work in progress, and few know better than the manger himself the changes that are required.
There will never be a summer of greater upheaval than last year, but the coming months will be busy. Rangers are restricted by the registration embargo, but so many players will become free agents at the end of the season that a radical approach is still possible. The club was dealing with a crisis last year, so the recruitment process was rushed, not least because only six players turned up for pre-season training and nobody was certain that Rangers would be granted the transfer of their SFA licence.
McCoist did not sign the players for all the positions that he wanted last summer, but has been able to plan ahead this time around. Every area of the team will be strengthened, although he has also admitted that trying to bring players to the club has been difficult.
Rangers still do not know in which league they will be playing next season, since reconstruction is yet to be voted on, and the club is unlikely to offer the kind of long-term contracts that brought Ian Black, Dean Shiels and Francisco Sandaza to Ibrox from the Clydesdale Bank Premier League last summer. None of those players has performed consistently to a high standard, and an air of complacency was too readily able to settle on some.
Sandaza's naïveté in being caught out by a prank caller could lead to his departure, with the striker currently suspended for admitting on the phone that he would accept an offer to play elsewhere and asking to see the terms of a contract offer before his agent, a breach of the rules. Black and Shiels are capable of being more influential figures, and the challenge for McCoist is assessing his players in these circumstances.
The central midfield pairing of Black and Kyle Hutton has not commanded games; neither player is dynamic, attacks at pace or passes the ball at a high tempo. Either one looks better alongside Lewis Macleod, who is comparatively a more adventurous and mobile figure. Some players in this Rangers squad will perform better as the standard of team-mate around them improves.
There are obvious areas of concern for the manager, though. Anestis Argryiou has never looked persuasive at right-back, and Rangers need a defender who can work the flank with the same purpose and hard running as Lee Wallace on the left. Ross Perry and Chris Hegarty have both played like young, developing centre-backs this season, and they need a more resilient player alongside them, a defender with authority and presence. With no agreement yet reached with Neil Alexander over a contract extension, Cammy Bell, who is currently with Kilmarnock, is expected to be the first-choice goalkeeper when he formally signs on September 1. Rangers are likely to sign two types of player this summer: those who will assist in the lower leagues and those who will be capable of contributing once the team eventually returns to the top flight. McCoist will want to implement a more gradual form of evolution in the coming years, since he is likely to start next season with a weakened team while he waits for the registration embargo to end on August 31. Free agents can train with the club, but it is another pre-season that is not ideal.
Rangers need more pace in attack, but also in the way that the team moves around the ball on the pitch. David Templeton, Barrie McKay and Fraser Aird provide width, but a left-sided attacker is needed. An alternative to Lee McCulloch and Andy Little is also required in attack.
The balance for McCoist is to improve his team without hindering the progress of the young players with potential. They need assistance as well as game time, though, since Ibrox can be a hostile place when the team is underperforming. In one sense, this side has served McCoist well, since it achieved the one aim of this season, which was promotion, but for some players that will be the last of their involvement.
League reconstruction may yet alter what the achievement means, but the campaign deserves recognition. There is no place for sentiment, though, and upgrades are required. Some displays, particularly recently, have caused the fans to become disillusioned, but the journey back was never likely to be smooth or without the occasional setback. The sole concern for Rangers has been achieving their ambition of progressing through the leagues.
The coming months will define McCoist as a manager, since how he builds his team, the worth of his ideas and his resources will be judged. The financial crisis was an opportunity for Rangers to restore the fundamental values of the club: a focus on youth development, a shrewd and properly resourced scouting network, and a commitment to excellence, as well as the necessary commercial regrowth. Rangers need to implement a vision, so that when the club returns to the top flight it will be sustainably run as well as competitive.
This season was about making the most of an awkward, difficult situation, of moving on, essentially. It is now a time for ideals and grander statements of intent. The next stage of the journey is about to begin.
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