Keith Jackson reacts to Rangers and Michael Beale transfer news at Ibrox
Keith Jackson has acknowledged the early progress made by Michael Beale in shaping the Rangers squad for the challenges of the new season, as featured in the Daily Record [19 June, Page 47].
He spoke of a “head of steam”, as a metaphor to represent the four signings already confirmed for the upcoming campaign, in the form of Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling, Jack Butland and Sam Lammers.
Jackson also advised caution, to wait until the real action begins before a proper assessment can be carried out on the required squad rebuild that will go a long way to determining the success or failure of Beale at Ibrox.
The chief football writer for the Record referenced the ability of Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin to hit the ground running as the template for what needs to follow.
“It’s picking up a head of steam but judgement should be reserved until the new recruits are stripped for action,” he said.
“If they can settle and impress as quickly as the January arrivals then his new-look side will become a highly credible force next season.”
Part of the plan
Beale is getting most of his business done before the start of pre-season training which will give him and Rangers the best chance of making it work.
It is several weeks away just now, but the first game of the new Scottish Premiership season as well as the Champions League qualifiers won’t be too long until they appear on the horizon. The manager knows that he needs to have his group of players fine-tuned for a fast start.
Given the extent of the squad rebuild, it was always part of the plan to get new faces in early, which will be supplemented by other arrivals later in the window.
There will also be a number of players leaving the club, with a few key sales planned to balance the numbers, both to raise important funds and reduce the squad quota.
With the return to training drawing closer, we can expect to see more of the master plan unveiled before the action is ramped up at Auchenhowie at the end of the month.
In other Rangers news, Ronald de Boer has sent Sam Lammers a two-word message after the Dutch striker completed his move to the Gers.