Barry Ferguson wants Rangers to sign players for starting XI in January
Rangers need to sign players for their starting lineup as well as their squad in January according to former captain and midfielder Barry Ferguson.
The Gers brought in seven first-team players during the summer window but they’ve struggled this season and that led to Giovanni van Bronckhorst being sacked and replaced by Michael Beale during the World Cup break.
He now has the task of trying to catch Celtic despite being nine points behind in the SPFL title race, and Ferguson told Go Radio (5 December) that reinforcements will be needed to get the squad in the image that Beale wants, although there may have to be some “ducking and diving” with a lack of funds.
“I do think Rangers need a bit of strengthening not just in the squad, but the starting XI,” he said.
“It will be an interesting winter and summer window for Michael Beale.
“Celtic are flying high at this moment time and have real good players, but so do Rangers. But I think there needs to be an investment.
“They’ve mentioned there won’t be a lot of money available in January so there might need to be a bit of ducking and diving. There might be (loan deals). But come the summer, I do believe there will be funds made available for Michael Beale to strengthen.
“There’s 10 or so players out-of-contract, and it’s very unlikely they’ll stay. Loan players will go back. Michael Beale knows he needs to bring in a number of players and I believe Rangers will back him as much as possible.
“I don’t think he’ll bring players in for the sake of it. They’ll need to improve the starting XI. They need to bring in quality and players who can go straight into the starting XI.”
Strength
Rangers have got a very good squad, and it’s far better than it has been performing recently and it should be remembered that there are a lot of injuries.
When everyone is fit this is a squad capable of competing with and beating Celtic, but we’ve had a bad rub of the green for a lot of this campaign.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for improvement however, and Beale has already made it clear that he has ideas on where to bolster the squad and the team and that he will make moves during the January transfer window.
There are also decisions to make on the future of senior first-team players like Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and even forgotten man Ryan Jack, which could alter plans for the summer.
Rangers need something different once the season restarts, and it’s down to Beale and the board to ensure that happens.
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