Rangers guilty of ‘absolutely shocking’ situation in pre-season friendlies
Rangers have had a solid start to the summer off the pitch as Russell Martin prepares for his first season at Ibrox.
The former Southampton manager has already brought with him eight new signings, with Gers set for a new look team after a disastrous previous campaign.
On the pitch, the Light Blues have so far played just one friendly this summer, with Martin’s first competitive game on Tuesday (22 July), a Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos, bringing with it plenty of uncertainty.
Rangers slammed by journalist for lack of preseason friendlies
In Martin’s first outing with Club Brugge earlier this month, the Bears had a hot and cold afternoon as they recovered from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.
Rangers have made good use of their partnership with Castore to secure a friendly against Middlesbrough on Saturday (26 July), but supporters will be concerned by their lack of friendlies this summer.
Speaking in the print edition of the Scottish Daily Mail (page 77, 20 July), journalist Gary Keown was critical of preparations this summer.
“The Premier League should be his primary focus this term,” Keown said.
“However, that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be scrutiny on why Rangers appear so poorly prepared for the first game of the campaign.
“Couldn’t they have employed a bit of forward thinking and set up more than just one Ibrox friendly against Club Brugge?
“It’s hard to judge what’s been going on in preseason. The 2-2 draw with Brugge came incredibly early and was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde affair with one awful 45 minutes and one half-decent one.
“One thing’s for sure. The goals lost against Brugge and in that 1-1 draw with Barnsley at St George’s Park were absolutely shocking.
“Serious work needs done on the backline and, although the idea of Joe Rothwell shoring up midfield and allowing Mohamed Diomande and Nico Raskin to get forwards sounds fine, up front looks a mess.”
While they have brought in plenty of new faces, the Scottish giants are still short of faces up front, and though Martin has been experimental with his squad in preseason, his defence has yet to show too much promise.
Gers are currently left with Danilo as seemingly their only option in the number nine position, with Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane nowhere to be seen amid links to moves away.
Keown wrong to be pessimistic about Rangers
Though Martin hasn’t had many preseason games, it won’t have taken him long to suss out his new side, hence why he has elected to make so many new signings so early on.
Keown was critical of Gers’ lack of recruitment, but should the 49ers sign too many players early on, it could be a case of too many cooks, with the Light Blues’ dynamic spoiled.
Martin won’t be listening to the noise from outside and will instead focus on bedding in new players his own way.
There will still be plenty of incomings and outgoings in the coming weeks for Gers fans to keep an eye on.
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