Ally McCoist admits Rangers need to put two years of instability and financial mismanagement firmly into the past if the club are to succeed in their aim of returning to the top flight.
The Ibrox manager has worked under three different regimes, as well as administration and boardroom infighting, and the club's reputation has been damaged.
Even a period of relative calm last season under Charles Green ended with directors clashing and shareholders demanding an extraordinary general meeting. In the meantime, McCoist guided his side to the Irn-Bru Third Division title, albeit with setbacks along the way. With seven players having agreed to sign as free agents when the registration embargo is lifted on September 1, the manager is adamant football takes precedence again at Ibrox.
"The club has been on the back pages and the front pages for the last two years now," McCoist said in an interview on the Rangers website. "I would like to see us on the back pages. There has been boardroom fighting and the club has suffered. People have made mistakes and let the club down. We need to get back to where Rangers have always been, get our standards as high as they were."
McCoist confirmed that he seeking to sign central defenders, although he will also need to reduce the size of his squad ahead of the SPFL League One kick-off next month. Although Carlos Bocanegra and Dorin Goian agreed terms to end their contracts a year early – the former has joined Chivas in MLS and the latter is on the verge of signing for Greeks Asteras Tripolis – Rangers still have the second largest wage bill in Scotland despite only playing in the third tier. McCoist, however, defended his recruitment strategy.
"Of course we [need a large squad], because we're a different club from every other one in Scotland," McCoist said. "Managers will tell you they get a different reaction out of their players when they play Rangers. For that reason, we need to be stronger because we're playing higher tempo games and we need a bigger squad. The Rangers fans deserve the best players they can possibly get and the best team. By that I mean the one that we can afford to put on the park."
Supporters jeered the team on occasion last season, despite Rangers comfortably winning the championship. Some of the displays lacked authority and dynamism, and the manager admits that his side needs to improve its displays this season – "I agree some of the performances last season could have been a lot better" – while McCoist also outlined his hopes for the club's future.
"Managers, especially the Rangers manager, are never in a position to long-term plan," he said on the day the club confirmed a pre-season game with Dundee at Dens Park on July 31. "If I take my eye off next week, I'll not be here. The next couple of months is my priority. I want to give the fans the Rangers they were used to for 140 years, a Rangers that is winning the league, qualifying for the Champions League, getting to the Uefa Cup final, always in a Scottish Cup final and League Cup final. It's important that we entertain."
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