Jon Daly yesterday became the third player this week to swap the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for Rangers when he signed a two-year contract with the Ibrox club.
The striker – who might also be utilised in defence in the Irn-Bru Second Division – follows Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell and Motherwell's Nicky Law in finalising moves to Glasgow.
Daly has spent the past six and a half years with Dundee United, during which he has lifted the Scottish Cup and qualified for European competition. The 30-year-old had been offered a one-year extension to his United contract this season but was convinced to move given the stature Rangers have retained despite currently occupying a place in the lower leagues.
"They are a massive club trying to get back to the SPL," the Irishman said earlier this month. "If everything pans out, they end up there. They are trying to get the club back to where they should be and it's a massive club with a great fanbase."
It was a similar theme to that found in the words of Bell and Law, the latter having signed a three-year contract yesterday. None of Rangers' new signings are able to be registered until a ban is lifted on September 1, although they could still feature in competitive matches as trialists. "I will probably just miss two or three games at the start of the season," said Law yesterday.
The ambition behind their moves to Rangers will not be realised in their first steps with the club, but instead by making it to the Premier League. The Ibrox side got on their way this season by winning the third division title and Giovanni van Bronkhorst is confident his former club showed the requisite spirit during that campaign to suggest they will continue their rise through the leagues.
"I talk with some ex-players now and then," said the Dutchman, who played for Rangers between 1998 and 2001. "I follow the stories so I know it has been quite a hectic time for the club. I think the spirit is still in the club and in the team. That is the most important thing. It is not nice to see the club play at such a low level."
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