Rangers’ title chances are up for debate this season, but Ally McCoist believes the current crop needs improved upon.
As we enter the hectic Winter schedule, Rangers sit in third place. The Ibrox side are four points off Celtic and five behind league leaders Hearts despite a stuttering domestic start.
Steven Gerrard signed a plethora of players over the summer, with a mixture of successes and failures in there. The idea was to get Rangers back competing at the top of the table once more.
McCoist, however, told the Daily Record that Gerrard has to improve the squad again if they’re to threaten a title chase.
“Rangers have improved but if they want to take the next step and win something, they have to keep improving their quality of player. There will need to be a turnover of players and that’s what Steven Gerrard will want. That’s the same for any team.
“Look at Hearts, where Craig has done a fantastic job in improving the quality of his squad. Rangers have clearly improved. Some people probably thought the improvement would go straight to winning the league. I never thought that would happen.
“I just thought, and hoped, there would be an improvement to make them competitive throughout the entire season. That looks as if it will probably still be the case.”
Realistic stance that Rangers can’t adopt
Whilst this is perhaps the most realistic way of looking at things, Rangers can’t take that stance. So long as they’re within touching distance of the top of the league, they have to believe they can catch up.
There have been plenty of positives mixed in with the negatives so far this season. Rangers have looked blistering in certain matches, whilst in others they’ve looked lackluster and fail to produce going forward. An example of that is their European record of 11 games unbeaten vs their poor away form which has recently picked up.
It’s about getting those consistency levels to top form. With so many new signings, there were always going to be some hiccups along the way. Injuries have also taken their toll in the early part of the season on the club. The same, however, could also be said for Hearts and Celtic respectively.
It’s difficult to judge whether Rangers need improvement to win the league. Recent performances would back McCoist up with the Gers lacking some goal threats going forward.
Gerrard, however, has to instill into his players a belief that the two top-table teams can be caught. Anything else and Rangers will create a negative atmosphere in their dressing room.
