Philippe Clement was given little help in the January transfer window as Rangers struggled to strengthen.
The squad was left weaker, with the manager having to turn to the academy for depth although his insistence on playing players out of position to compensate continues to frustrate.
The summer transfer window can’t come soon enough even if Clement loses his job, with one Rangers target told to shape up if he is to be a success in Europe.
Rangers linked Relebohile Mofokeng told to get on the weights
Relebohile Mofokeng has been linked with Rangers, and Barcelona, the diminutive winger who burst onto the scene in South Africa last season.
The 20-year old is lightening quick with a competent end product, but has one glaring weakness according to someone who knows him well.
Speaking on the Soccerbeat podcast, former Orlando Pirates manager Eric Tinkler said:
“I think the youngster (Mofokeng) has shown a lot of maturity when I compare him to a lot of other youngsters. I think he shows a lot of maturity at his age. Very comfortable on the ball and he is not afraid to express himself, which is a positive.
“But I also think there is a lot of room for growth for him. I think his size is still an issue for me, especially when if we want to consider him going to Europe somewhere.
“I think that is an area of his development that needs to improve, but I think he has a lot of potential to become an extremely good winger because of that creativity and not afraid to take people on.
“And he has a great vision in sight and is a selfish player. He looks to set up and finds other players so I have actually been very impressed with his progress.”
Does size matter in the SPFL?
Mofokeng wouldn’t be the first winger to arrive on Scottish shores and be deemed too lightweight.
Amad Diallo has reaped the benefits of being toughened up by the SPFL but Rabbi Matondo never really adjusted to the intensity of the Scottish game.
Tinkler is right in that players have to be able to look after themselves and yet, across the city, Nicolas Kuhn is hardly a heavyweight, neither was Kyogo, and Jota is even smaller.
Like Mofokeng though, they all have pace and the ability to cause defences problems, but also a manager who sets his team up to get the best out of them too.
