Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has praised Michael Beale’s recruitment at Rangers this summer, highlighting the increased physicality within the side.
The Gers have been busy in the transfer window this summer. After losing a lot of key players including Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Malik Tillman, they have brought in a number of new signings, with Beale stamping his mark on the side.
Rangers are set to kick off their league season this week in a tough opening fixture away at Kilmarnock, but McInnes has admitted to Sky Sports that he expects a battle with Beale’s side.
“Mick has made plenty signings, he’s obviously trying to put his stamp on the team, he’s signed a lot of forwards. And there’s a bit more physical presence looking at some of the signings in terms of size,” he stated.
How have Rangers added more physicality?
The main area Rangers have strengthened in this summer has been the attack, with Danilo, Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers arriving to replace Alfredo Morelos and Antonio Colak.
Lammers particularly adds height and strength to the attack. Standing at 1.91m tall, he ranked in the top 3% of European strikers for tackles last season, and is a forward who can trouble defences in physical and aerial duels.
Attacking midfielder Kieran Dowell arrived from Norwich and can add a bit of steel alongside creativity, ranking highly amongst his peers for blocks and dribbling, adding extra security on the ball.
Tall defender Leon Balogun has returned at the back, and Rangers could yet add to the back line whilst Leon King remains injured.
It has been a productive window, and plenty of forwards arrived out of necessity, and all indicators point towards Beale desiring a team which brings more physicality and wins more duels than the side has done in recent years.
This is certainly encouraging, given the sometimes weak performances and heavy defeats seen both domestically and in Europe in the past two seasons, and having stronger players could help Rangers in tough trips like the season opener at Kilmarnock.
