Ally McCoist makes Rangers transfer admission, shares Celtic title prediction
Ally McCoist had admitted that he is not yet convinced about the new-look Rangers side and remains cautious of the “excellent” Brenden Rodgers at Celtic.
As reported in the print edition of the Daily Record (4 August, pg 43), the former Ibrox star is trepidatious regarding all of Rangers’ new signings and if they can adapt in time to make an impact.
However, despite the question marks around the Gers, McCoist claims it is “tough” to predict who will win the title between Rangers and Celtic.
McCoist said: “This is the first year in a long time where I genuinely don’t know who wins it. Celtic have lost one or two but Brendan Rodgers is an excellent coach.
“Michael Beale has brought in nine players. It is a tough one to call. I don’t know how Rangers players will settle in. They brought them in quickly.”
Too early to call
While the Scottish league isn’t exactly the hardest league to predict, this new-look Rangers side certainly has the potential to cause an upset if things go to plan.
Celtic have not been as active as Beale’s side this window and have lost key players including Jota to Saudi Arabia.
With Rangers able to boast the likes of Cyriel Dessers, Danilo and Sam Lammers as new recruits, there is a lot of excitement in the air at Ibrox. However, a lot must go to plan if the Gers want to have a good start to the season.
McCoist’s fear about the players settling in is justified. When too many new faces show up in one window, often sides struggle to gel and play well together as they are unfamiliar with each other and perhaps with the new style of play.
Fulham in 2018/19 brought in waves of new players after they earned promotion to the Premier League, but with almost an entirely new starting XI they struggled and eventually relegated.
While the Scottish League is slightly more forgiving than the Premier League, it goes to show that having a good squad on paper does not necessarily translate into being the best team on the pitch.
But Beale is obviously smart enough to know this, but he must be intelligent enough to balance old faces with new if they want to topple Celtic’s dominance.
In other Rangers news, a pundit has revealed why the Gers’ latest signing has “dipped”.