Rangers boss Michael Beale has just heaped the pressure on Ibrox director Ross Wilson as he pinpoints five new players this summer.
The Ibrox gaffer was speaking ahead of a big summer of proposed change and growing pressure on the Ibrox directorate amid a downturn in domestic form over the last 18 months.
Rangers find themselves nine points behind Celtic having surrendered their brief domestic dominance with a series of poor transfer decisions which many believe rests at the feet of Ross Wilson.
Ross Wilson under pressure at Rangers
The former Southampton recruitment guru and Rangers sporting director has, as a result, found himself at the middle of fan protests as the Union Bears take aim at Ross Wilson and Stewart Robertson.
It has heaped the pressure on this upcoming summer, with Ross Wilson under huge pressure to oversee the next evolution of the squad after the club slept on the success of 55 and handed the title back to Celtic.
With the Parkhead side set to win a second Premiership title on the bounce, and their 11th out of the last 12, those behind the scenes at Rangers must now deliver the only thing that matters for the fans; trophies.
And ahead of that summer, Michael Beale has now claimed he’s handed five names to Ross Wilson as Rangers look to make a series of signings.
Michael Beale details early Ibrox transfer plans
“I’ve identified some really good players for the club and the club is away working on that,” said Beale.
“Good players don’t always cost lots. They just have to fit the way you want to play. But I’m confident this summer gives us an opportunity to do two things.
“We want to have a tighter group, and then we want to recruit new faces and energy into it. Look at Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin, they didn’t cost huge amounts.
“Certainly, with the salaries we have going out at the end of contracts, we have finance to bring in.
“There are good players out there available on loan as well. Malik Tillman has been one of the better players in the league.
“That helps, but my staff are extensive in terms of our knowledge of players and those coming through the different systems. Our scouting department is really good as well.
“It’s about identifying the right names and making sure they’re a good fit. So we’ll build a stronger squad than this season — it’s just how quickly we get that team up and running.
“In terms of the number of signings, there is no set number on it. But you could say now there will comfortably be five new faces.
“If we sell, we’d replace like-for-like in terms of positions. So it could be any number.”
Whilst Beale might not have meant to, amid the protests the comments heap the pressure on Wilson to deliver and will add to the scrutiny if things don’t go to plan in the upcoming window.
Rangers have dallied when it comes to signings in recent windows and if Michael Beale has already handed his list of players to Ross Wilson, there is also no excuse to get things done early.
Over to you, Ross.
