Rangers ‘to close gap with Celtic’ as Derek Ferguson makes 49ers claim
Celtic sealed their fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title before Rangers drew 2-2 against St Mirren on Saturday.
Barry Ferguson’s team travelled to Paisley on 26 April, a few hours after the Hoops had already officially won the league title by beating Dundee United.
Cyriel Dessers opened the scoring against Stephen Robinson’s team before Mark O’Hara equalised for the hosts minutes later.
Nico Raskin restored the Glaswegian outfit’s lead just after the break before Conor McMenamin scored St Mirren’s second, and the Light Blues have a massive transfer window up ahead under their prospective new owners.
Derek Ferguson expects Rangers close gap with Celtic after shrewd transfers
Andrew Cavengah and 49ers Enterprises can close the gap on Celtic if they sign the right players, Derek Ferguson says.
The Scotsman doesn’t believe the Gers are too far behind their Old Firm rivals, and shrewd business next summer is all it’ll take to potentially bring success back to Ibrox.
| Major shareholders | Percentage |
| New Oasis Asset Limited | 12.96 |
| Douglas Park | 11.54 |
| George Alexander Taylor | 10.22 |
| Stuart Gibson | 9.53 |
| John Bennett | 7.11 |
| Borita Investments Limited | 6.69 |
| Perron Investments LLC | 6 |
Ferguson feels everything depends on who the incoming recruitment team at the Light Blues will sign in the upcoming transfer window.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound (26 April, 15:21), the former midfielder said: “The 49ers are coming in, and if you have a good close season in terms of the signings you bring in, and you’re quite shrewd in who you’re going to keep, I think the gap on the field is not as big as everyone thinks.
“That can be cut back pretty sharply. It depends on who comes in.”
Ibrox needs heavy investment after takeover
Kevin Thelwell’s arrival at Ibrox at the end of the season is a seemingly encouraging sign, as the Gers need a massive squad overhaul.
The Englishman will leave Everton in the coming months and get to work at the Glaswegian outfit instantly.
Ross Wilson’s departure in 2023 meant that the Light Blues were without a sporting director for quite some time before Nils Koppen took up multiple roles.
Rangers will undoubtedly shift to a different recruitment model once Thelwell begins his tenure, and it’ll be interesting to see who they can attract next summer.
James Tavernier should leave Ibrox in the upcoming transfer window as the Gers start a new era under the US consortium.
Most of the backline needs reshaping as the Light Blues arguably need an upgrade on the likes of Ridvan Yilmaz, Leon Baogin and Robin Propper.
Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande have formed a decent pairing in the engine room, but the Glaswegian outfit must reinforce their attacking ranks.
Vaclav Cerny and Ianis Hag could leave soon, while Cyriel Dessers shouldn’t be the starting number nine any more.
Cavenagh and the 49ers will need to invest heavily, but will they do that? Only time will tell.