RANGERS’ new signings may not be the big names the fans might have hoped for but I think the road they are continuing to go down is the right on for them at this point. As they try to get back on an even financial footing, it’s one stage at a time. They’ll no doubt have long-term goals about where they want to see the club eventually, but it has to be a gradual and controlled thing and that goes for the players they bring in as well.
They still look a decent bet to be back in the Premiership next season and if they make it, then they can move on to the next stage. But after all the financial problems they have had in the past, it would be daft for them to take a gamble just now. They have to do things properly and they seem to be doing that.
You think back to the days when Rangers were down in the Third Division and were buying big-name players and overspending to win those leagues. But you can win leagues by getting in the right players for that level. Once you have completed that stage, you can then shake it up again and bring in signings that are appropriate for the next step up.
It’s about being sensible with your money and planning properly – all the things that Rangers haven’t been doing over the past four or five years. They were splashing cash about and paying out too much money to win leagues that they could have won with cheaper players. So it’s refreshing now they seem to be spending what seems appropriate for this level of football.
Look at what Hearts have done over the past couple of seasons. They put together a squad that won the Championship at a canter but when they made the step up last summer they changed it again. They only kept two or three from the team that won them promotion as they obviously felt they had to strengthen again. And they did it at the right time. That’s the model Rangers need to follow. If they get promoted, then they will need to reassess the squad and see what changes they need to make them competitive at that next level.
They have already started planning by bringing in Matt Crooks and Josh Windass from Accrington Stanley on pre-contract agreements. I played with Josh’s dad at Aberdeen. Dean wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea in the dressing room but I got on well with him. The two of us really hit it off on the pitch and knew each other’s games inside out. He was an intelligent player – although the same can’t be said of the way he was off the park, it has to be said!
I had a few decent striking partnerships in my time – with Kjell Olofsson at Dundee United and Duncan Shearer at Aberdeen to name two – and the one with Dean was up there with the best. From what I hear Josh is quite like his father and if he’s even 80 per cent of what Dean was, then Rangers are getting a right good player.
Mark Warburton and David Weir know English football well but I think these are the sort of signings that show the value of a proper scouting network, something they didn’t have for a few years. Now they have the right people in the right places and it already seems to be paying dividends for them. They are making appropriate signings for the level of finance they have available to them at the moment and it seems a sensible approach.
I THINK most of us imagined the race for the Championship title would be a straight shoot-out between Rangers and Hibernian but what a season Falkirk are having. They have been so consistent that at this point you definitely have to say they have a chance. They’ve been under the radar for so long and I’m sure that will suit Peter Houston and his players just fine. They’ll be happy just motoring along away from the limelight with all the pressure on the other two. What a brilliant finish to the season we will have if they can keep this run going.
I NOTICED the other day that Mixu Paatelainen had mentioned he may bring a sports psychologist in at Dundee United. I can understand why, considering the position are in and I would never rule it out completely, but it’s not something I’m all that keen on.
My view is that if you need a sports psychologist you’re either weak-minded or your club is in a bad place. But maybe Mixu thinks it’s worth giving it a shot to try to turn things around.
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