Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson have once again come under the microscope after the club’s humiliation to Liverpool in the Champions League.
Getting battered 7-1 by Liverpool on home turf, Rangers have once again come up short on the biggest stage as their European campaign hangs by a thread and supporters continue to criticise everything from the squad, to the management, to the boardroom.
The Rangers support were left frustrated heading into this season’s Champions League after the club failed to invest in the Ibrox squad following qualification for this year’s tournament.
Many Rangers supporters believed that the squad was short of proper quality heading into the tournament and this premonition has played out amid a run of major injuries and woeful performances.
Ross Wilson has at times taken the credit when the club’s recruitment has worked – see the league-winning 20/21 season – but the ex-Southampton man has found his position questioned repeatedly due to a series of issues in the squad.
Rangers fans raise Ross Wilson questions after Liverpool defeat
Rangers fans have been crying out for a quality midfielder and right-winger to be added to the squad for the last 18 months or so, whilst the replacements for the likes of Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo are either not starting or currently injured.
Of the Ross Wilson Rangers summer signings, John Souttar and Tom Lawrence are out until after the World Cup, Ben Davies has struggled for match fitness, Malik Tillman is out of form, Rabbi Matondo is yet to find his feet and Ridvan Yilmaz can’t get near the starting XI.
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Only Antonio Colak can be branded a consistent success.
Then there is the situation surrounding player contracts with two of the Gers’ biggest assets in Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos.
Both players are in the final year of their deals and at present there’s nothing to suggest they’re close to signing new contracts, meaning they are free to negotiate with other clubs in January.
Letting these two players run their deals down could cost Rangers big money in transfer fees whilst given their woeful form as of late, it could be impacting their performances.
The notion that Kent or Morelos could be eyeing a move elsewhere in the next year is also intensified by the fact there are several players in the squad many believe don’t want to be at the club.
The likes of Glen Kamara have spoken openly about their ambitions to play elsewhere, whilst there are plenty who maybe should’ve been moved on a while ago, including a number of members of an aging squad.
Questions over the Ross Wilson squad management and recruitment policy are genuinely legitimate at Rangers and if this team cannot get over the line in the Premiership this season, calls for both him and Giovanni van Bronckhorst to go will only get louder at Rangers.
Meanwhile, one Champions League upset has surely given Giovanni van Bronckhorst food for thought after comments on the financial disparity between teams.