BBC Pundit believes Rangers have overlooked 'domestic aspect' as he picks four names the club should've signed
Ex-Manchester United midfielder says Rangers hierarchy don’t recognise importance of ‘domestic aspect’ of Scottish football
It’s been a disappointing start for Russell Martin domestically as last Saturday’s 1-1 draw to Dundee makes it two draws from two. Rangers yet again find themselves in a position where they are performing on the European stage but are struggling in the league.
A Ryan Astley header for Dundee in the second half sent alarm bells around Ibrox, before Nasser Djiga got sent off for tripping Finlay Robertson when through on goal. The ten-men of Rangers did get an equaliser courtesy of a James Tavernier penalty and the Ibrox crowd thought they’d won it at the end when Cyriel Dessers slotted the ball past Jon McCracken right at the death, but VAR showed the Nigerian to be clearly offside.
As The Gers yet again look to be struggling domestically, ex Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart believes that the higher-ups at Rangers need to get their priorities right, in terms of domestic football. The pundit was speaking on the latest edition of the Scottish Football Social Club show alongside former Rangers defender Alan Hutton.
Stewart believes Rangers missed out on signing quartet
Rangers have been linked with a plethora of Scottish Premiership stars in the last few years, however very few have actually made the move to the blue side of Glasgow. This season, Lyall Cameron, who has looked impressive for The Gers in their opening matches, is the only player to have signed from a fellow SPFL club.
Michael Stewart believes that Rangers should have dipped into the Scottish market a lot more than they have done in the past few seasons. Speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club, he said: “look at the domestic players that could’ve made a huge difference (to Rangers). There’s Lennon Miller away to Udinese, go and spend £5m on him and make a mark, look at the resale value you’ve got on him, look at the quality you get straight away.
“Greg Taylor, better left back than anything that’s in the club, there was nothing ever done about that and Lawrence Shankland up top, they could’ve got him on a free transfer. Plus they could’ve got Vaclav Cerny who was in the building already.
“Those four players would improve Rangers, not only in terms of quality but the actual steel, determination and desire that is sorely lacking at the moment.”
Rangers hierarchy have taken their eye off ‘domestic aspect’
Stewart also criticised the hierarchy at Rangers, as well as the manager for not realising the importance of the Scottish Premiership to the club. He said: “I say this with no disrespect but the hierarchy of the club are almost exclusively from down south and the manager is as well, I don’t think they recognise the need and the importance of the domestic aspect.”
Martin wouldn’t be the only Rangers manager to have lacked domestic success in recent years, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement all having struggled to find a way to play against Scottish teams, despite doing well in Europe.
Rangers play the second leg of their Champions League Qualifier against Viktoria Plzen tonight as Martin and co head to the Czech Republic with a three-goal advantage.