Rangers need to do a lot of work in the summer in terms of making sure that there are more players who are capable of adjusting to life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
There has been a big turnaround in the Rangers squad in recent years, and it will be the same again this year.
Not only are there five players out of contract, but there are other players who clearly aren’t good enough and need to be moved on.
One of those, who has been questioned for some time, is Nedim Bajrami, who was given a surprise start by Barry Ferguson.
The Rangers manager threw down the gauntlet to the £3.4m signing ahead of the Old Firm derby as he summed up exactly what the problem is with the 26-year old.
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Barry Ferguson demands more from Nedim Bajrami
Bajrami, as an experienced international and expensive signing, should be one of the key players in the squad.
Instead, he has barely kicked a ball in 2025.
Ferguson, speaking to Rangers TV, hit the nail on the head:
“There is no doubt in my mind that Nedim has got a lot of qualities, he doesn’t show it enough in my opinion.
“We’ve spoken about it and now he has got an opportunity today to show the reason why Rangers went and spent that money on him.
“Technically he is a really gifted player, I want to see the other side of that as well, the dirty side of the game when you have to really track back and help your team-mates and work hard for the team.
“He is a player who has got real qualities, but he has just not shown it enough. What I said is to go and show it today.”
Why Bajrami isn’t a good fit for Rangers
This is exactly the problem with Bajrami.
Compare him to Daizen Maeda or Nicolas Khun, technically, Bajrami is a better footballer, however, it is easy to see why the two Celtic players cause more problems.
Their pace, energy and work rate create chances without even having to do anything.
Just look at Celtic’s equaliser at Ibrox. All Maeda does is run towards John Souttar and he causes panic.
Against defensive teams, Bajrami doesn’t have the pace to hurt defences nor does he look to dominate games and control possession, he flits in and out of games showing glimpses of what he is capable of.
What can be said of Bajrami, is that in games against Celtic, he has followed instructions perfectly, nullifying Callum McGregor on each occasion that he has played.
The intelligence and technical ability are there, but it takes so much more than talent to be a success for Rangers.
