We know you might not want to hear any positivity when it comes to Rangers right now.
It’s been a painful few weeks supporting the Ibrox side, if not a painful few years, and as we gear up for another summer of optimism you’ll forgive fans for keeping their powder dry.
Rangers have got it awfully wrong time and again ever since winning that first league title in a decade back in 2021 and we’re paying the price of a wobbly contract structure, ageing squad and lack of invention in the transfer market.
The rebuild we’re about to undergo this summer looks set to be substantially more costly than sensible investment in the wake of 55.
Not only did that stagnation relinquish our brief control of the Scottish Premiership crown, but our Old Firm rivals have been cashing the Champions League cheque we won for Scottish football ever since.
But whilst we’ve got ourselves into a routine of scepticism and hopelessness, all is not lost Rangers fans.
Here’s our seven point case for positivity as the club looks to – finally – reclaim Scottish football’s domestic crown.
Three years of Rangers injury woes behind us?
Before we even get on to the summer overhaul, let’s talk about the club’s woeful record of injury problems as of late.
The Ibrox club’s medical issues have been well-documented with only eight of the 30 players in the Rangers squad hitting Clement’s 90% availability target this season.
In a campaign blighted by problems in this department, a lack of fitness, physicality, proper squad rotation and the poor management of injuries has cost us dearly for almost three years.
It has to change and Philippe Clement has promised that it will.
We know your instinct is to be sceptical, but let’s for a second assume the Belgian knows what he’s talking about and that the drastic situation can be put behind us with an effective pre-season.
Genuine and symbolic change at Rangers
Whilst Clement would rather not be in this position, several of the Rangers squad’s highest earners look set to leave the club this summer.
With five big names walking out the door last season for nothing, as many are set to do the same this campaign in a contract situation which makes a mockery of our so-called ‘player trading model’.
Having failed in their duty to fly the championship flag above Ibrox, we can’t say too many are disappointed with handshakes aplenty set to be dished out this summer.
It’s not just the out of contract players either.
Rangers fans want to see a new direction and there is a rampant debate about who should be the captain next season.
Whatever happens, change is coming, and so is investment.
We have to do something we haven’t done since the summer before winning 55 and get a transfer window perfect.
Another year older at Ibrox, another year wiser
For others in the Rangers squad who might not have been here so long, it’s another season under their belt at Ibrox.
Upheaval has overshadowed the early tenures of Ridvan Yilmaz, Nico Raskin, Rabbi Matondo and Todd Cantwell and finally Rangers have some continuity on the training pitch.
The likes of Cyriel Dessers have also had a season getting used to the pressure and the idiosyncrasies of life at Rangers.
There are no excuses now and if these guys can’t deliver in the forthcoming campaign, then it’s probably about time they moved on too.
Told you we were going to be positive!
Champions League hopes build
If ever Rangers needed the big, shiny, golden carrot of Champions League qualification dangled in front of them, it’s this season.
European football’s elite competition is about to go through a dramatic shift in structure which brings with it new found riches.
Celtic got our ticket but all is not lost as Rangers look to qualify for the tournament this summer.
The route to the Champions League is fraught with dangers in qualification and no teams are to be taken lightly.
But with Rangers one of the seeded teams in the competition from Champions League QR3, it’s a much more favourable outcome.
We probably won’t get a better chance to reach the group stages through the non-champions route of qualification.
Rangers gap with Celtic overstated
Now, we know you are sick of Rangers players saying it after another defeat to Celtic, but the playing gap really isn’t as big as it is often made out.
Rangers need fresh blood, they need fresh energy and they need more quality but spare us the notion that Celtic are miles ahead.
Philippe Clement is under pressure in the Old Firm derby and the fact he couldn’t beat Brendan Rodgers this season is a black mark in his copybook.
Rangers shot themselves in the foot too many times against Celtic this season with excuses, a lack of self-belief and a lack of quality in the big moments costing us.
It can – and must – be rectified this summer even if Celtic will hope to flex their financial muscle in the transfer market.
Rangers to put player trading faith in youth
We’ve heard it all before, we know.
Rangers player trading model this, best in class that.
Hot air with little return and Rangers fans are growing very sick and tired of the entire arrangement.
But there is under Philippe Clement, finally, an increased focus on young players who can either develop at the club or have been developed in the academy.
Ross McCausland is a shining light whilst the signings of Mohamed Diomande and Oscar Cortes point to a new direction at Rangers.
We expect more youth in the squad next season and whilst we still need a couple of old heads to balance things out, the days of relying on over the hill Championship-level footballers is (hopefully) over.
Clement IS the manager for the job
Philippe Clement might not be perfect, but show us a manager who is?
The managerial situations at Chelsea, Manchester United, even Bayern Munich, point to a dearth of talent in the dugout with more pressure than ever on the role.
Philippe Clement talks a good game and you get the impression everyone around the club respects him.
The Belgian does also have one trophy to his name in the League Cup whilst Europa League last 16 qualification can’t be ignored.
That initial Rangers comeback following his appointment needs to be followed up next season and things will turn quite quickly if Clement cannot show Rangers fans progress even early in the campaign.
But for the time being the Belgian retains the trust of supporters who want to see Clement backed in the transfer market and Rangers moving in the right direction.
The Belgian has also made a public appeal for a helping hand in his backroom staff ahead of next season.
