Rangers find themselves navigating a challenging start to the season, marked by recent European qualification setbacks and squad imbalances. The club's Europa League qualifying campaign hit a snag with a defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok, pushing them into a play-off round against Czech side Jablonec. This result follows the significant news that Youssef Chermiti will be sidelined with a long-term knee injury, occurring shortly after the club reportedly rejected a substantial bid for the 22-year-old striker.
The team's recruitment strategy is now adapting to these circumstances, with plans to sign a new striker in addition to wingers and defenders that manager Derek McInnes had already identified. "The club are working so hard to get the necessary type of players," McInnes stated, as PSV Eindhoven winger Couhaib Driouech is anticipated to be the next new arrival.
Criticism has emerged regarding the squad's composition. One perspective suggests the team is "imbalanced this late into the transfer window," highlighting a need for "three centre-halves, one left-back, two, arguably, three wingers." Despite these concerns, the prevailing view is that the current available squad should have been sufficient to secure victories against Dundee United, Hibernian, and Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Rangers had hoped that reuniting McInnes with striker Lawrence Shankland would prove a successful formula, having narrowly missed out on the title with Hearts the previous season. However, former Rangers player Steven Thompson suggested that Shankland may be experiencing the heightened pressure of captaincy at his new club.
"It's the weight of playing for Rangers, the weight of not having the start that he wanted, and the weight of taking a bad touch," Thompson remarked. "At previous clubs, if you take a bad touch and give it away, you might get a few pelters. Here tonight, when Lawrence Shankland's link-up play wasn't that good or he should've had a shot when he didn't, they are on you and it is going to take him a bit to get used to that I think. It's not physical, it's mental."
The club's recent performances and transfer market activity have fueled discussions about what needs to improve for Rangers under McInnes's leadership this season.