Ally McCoist has been able to move more swiftly this summer.

It was the end of July before he could begin to recruit players last year, with the uncertainty over Rangers' future causing a delay following the business and assets of Rangers Football Club plc having been bought by the consortium headed by Charles Green. McCoist was attempting to rebuild his team, almost from scratch, and the intention was to sign a core of Scottish Premier League-quality players so that Rangers could compete in the cup competitions.

Yet the manager was not allowed to complete his strategy. The move for David Templeton was left to drag until the last moment, enabling his agent to strike a better deal for his client. The departures, late on in the transfer window, of Dorin Goian and Carlos Bocanegra left Rangers under-strength at centre-back, but the defenders McCoist wanted to sign were not brought to the club. He had to make the best of the resources he was left with.

With enough time, clear-headed thinking and proper direction on budget, the recruitment process could have been more thorough. In the likes of Ian Black and Dean Shiels, McCoist was signing players of proven talent who were prepared, in return for long contracts and increased wages, to step down to the third division. Some lessons have been learned from last summer, not least the requirement to reach agreements with players early enough to allow them to be part of the club's pre-season training regime. Rangers cannot sign anybody until September 1, when the registration embargo ends and they can formally conclude deals with free agents. In the meantime, players who will be out of contract on that date can agree to sign for the club. So far, Cammy Bell, the former Kilmarnock goalkeeper, Nicky Law, the ex-Motherwell midfielder, and the strikers, Jon Daly, from Dundee United, and Nicky Clark, of Queen of the South, will be added to McCoist's squad for next season.

The team often lacked creativity and attacking thrust from central midfield last season, certainly during the spell that Lewis Macleod was out injured. Law will address that issue, and can also play on the left of midfield. Daly can lead the attack, providing an alternative to Lee McCulloch, while also having the flexibility to play at centre-back, while Clark was the top scorer in the second division last season and, at 21, he still has the potential to develop further. Bell is a goalkeeper of growing assurance and possesses the ability and confidence to replace Neil Alexander as the No.1 at Ibrox, if he does not sign a new contract.

On the face of it, McCoist has followed the same strategy as last summer, in signing players of SPL-quality. One of the consequences is a wage bill that will remain the second highest in Scotland, and disproportionately higher than any of the sides they will face in the league. However, it is likely that the new signings will not be on wages as high as those offered last summer, with shorter contracts, albeit including options, and performance-related bonuses.

The club's strategy is clear enough, to sign players who can not only take Rangers back into the top flight but also play a role when they begin again the task of competing with Celtic. The alternative was signing lower league players then conducting wholesale changes the closer Rangers moved to the SPL.

Neither strategy is ideal, but these are the circumstances McCoist must operate in. He is working under his third regime in two years, after Craig Whyte and Charles Green and has yet to be delivered everything he was promised. Rangers are restricted to signing players who will be out of contract, but under-18s are not included in the ban. There has been no significant recruitment at that level, although the club is currently operating without any scouting staff since Neil Murray was suspended by Green, before reaching a settlement after no wrongdoing was found.

McCoist would relish the opportunity to work unhindered, with a clear executive management hierarchy, firm budgets and the right amount of support staff. None of that is currently possible, and won't be until the dysfunctional nature of the board is addressed and decisions are made in the best interests of the club's medium and long-term future, as well as just for the short-term.

Some fans will quibble over Daly's injury record and similarity to McCulloch, but he has been an effective SPL player for some time. The other three signings are of the right age and ability profile for Rangers, even if their wages are extreme for the second division. Rangers continue to operate on two levels: its true stature as a leading club, and its current stature in the second division. Balancing those competing identities is a fraught task.