Beating Celtic to the Scottish Premiership title may seem a long way away for Rangers fans, but former Gers chief Gordon Smith believes that fortunes can be turned around very quickly.
The Rangers youth team won the Glasgow Cup over Celtic on Tuesday night, but at the senior level, silverware hasn’t been a luxury at Ibrox this season.
A positive could come from the season on Sunday if Rangers win their third consecutive Old Firm of the season, something to build on as the 49ers Enterprises takeover is finalised ahead of a busy summer.
Mass changes to the Rangers squad will be expected if the new owners want to see immediate success as the players have let Barry Ferguson down, but Smith is convinced that four of the current crop can be built around.
Nicolas Raskin named in Rangers group to challenge Celtic
The Scottish Premiership table makes for grim reading this season, with Rangers needing to overcome a 15-point gap next year to get back to within touching distance of Celtic.
However, speaking to the Daily Record, Smith doesn’t think this is impossible, given that Celtic managed it the season after Steven Gerrard’s title-winning campaign.
He said: “Yes, it’s doable. No doubt about it. It’s just about getting the right players in, even with a certain group of players as well. […] A certain manager can improve certain players. It’s also about the right recruitment.”
Recruitment will be at the top of the list for new Rangers Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell, but Smith also referenced a number of stars already at Ibrox who can act as a backbone to this challenge.
Smith continued: “At the moment, you are maybe looking at Nicolas Raskin as one of the few. Souttar. I like Hamza Igamane, I think he’s good, and I wouldn’t totally rule Cyriel Dessers out either, because he does have 24 goals this season, which is not bad for any player.”
Talents like these might be hard for Thelwell to keep, as although Raskin hinted at staying at Rangers, the Belgian will surely be in demand in the summer, leading to Smith discussing what the club should be looking for in the transfer market.
‘Mentality’ a key factor for Gordon Smith’s Rangers recruitment
The incoming Rangers owners will, of course, have their own targets in mind, but Smith made it clear that specific talent can only go so far when pinpointing a target for the club.
He said: “A lot of the clubs these days go down the route of stats. I’m a believer in stats to a degree, but I also have a belief it’s about looking at players, seeing players, understanding them. For clubs like Rangers and Celtic, you need to have players who have the mentality to cope as well.
“[…] It is not the easiest thing to play for Rangers every week. If you have two defeats at Rangers, it is a crisis. So you need to have players who can deal with that and that has a lot to do with the actual due diligence when you’re signing a player.”
One early rumour could be the permanent signing of Neraysho Kasanwirjo who, despite his injury, has spent time at the club so would hopefully fit the criteria set out by Smith.
Whoever is brought in to support the talents already at the club, though, will need to hit the ground running at Auchenhowie to mount a serious challenge to Celtic.
