Rangers fans had a feeling the squad is looking a tad undercooked this summer.
The disappointing 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Manchester United has simply proved it.
The Ibrox side welcomed the English giants to Edinburgh for a special friendly clash at Murrayfield, attended by an impressive 56k+ spectators.
But some Rangers fans would’ve been watching on through the cracks in their fingers as a senior Ibrox team at times struggled against a youthful United side.
Whilst the match undoubtedly had a pre-season feel and these games are about minutes, there are fears rising in the Ibrox support over the quality of the team on the park.
Especially with the £30m+ prize of Champions League qualification on the line in the weeks ahead.
Pre-season Rangers toil v Manchester United
As we’ve explained, you cannot read too much into these pre-season matches and we will caveat this story with that in mind.
But at the same time, Rangers are a couple of weeks out from the start of the Scottish Premiership season and look miles away from a team worthy of competing for trophies this season.
In a frustrating display Rangers were outclassed by United’s technical superiority for large portions of the first half.
Whilst the likes of ex-Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, new £52m signing from Lille Leny Yoro and England international Mason Mount started the game, the team that finished it have barely taken their first steps out of the Academy.
Amad Diallo – briefly at Rangers for six months in 2022 – shone on his return to Scotland and tormented new Ibrox left-back Jefte.
The Ivorian eventually opened the scoring, and whilst Rangers huffed and puffed in the second half, the Ibrox side fell victim to a second after some desperate play in midfield.
Joe Hugill rifled the ball past a helpless Jack Butland to make it 2-0 and leave Rangers fans mulling over a number of missed opportunities after a less than convincing display.
Whilst there was some productive build-up play from Rangers in the game, the Ibrox side’s lack of options in the final third is a huge worry for fans.
The club’s wide players or strikers are quite simply not lethal, confident or creative enough when it matters and things have got to change.
Gers fans fearing the worst
Rangers find themselves in something of a complicated state two weeks out from the beginning of the season.
With no Ibrox, no CEO, no imminent transfers, no captain and – on the current face of things – no confidence, Gers supporters are growing more nervous by the day.
An exceptional level of squad mismanagement at Rangers between player contracts, high wages, poor signings and a lack of forward planning has set us back years.
Philippe Clement has continuously stressed that the current situation is a work in progress and all the sounds from the manager and the club aren’t exactly super positive heading into the new season.
With Champions League qualification on the line and a distinct lack of transfers into the squad to date, Rangers fans are fearing the worst.
And not without good reason.
The club needs fresh investment but with the party line being we must sell before we can buy, we don’t blame you for thinking we’re in for a long old season.
As for the £30m jackpot that comes with the Champions League, with our transfer record so far this summer we’re taking an almighty gamble.
