Mark Warburton was on Monday unveiled as Rangers’ new manager – with David Weir as his assistant.
Here, reporter Andy Newport takes a look at five things the former Brentford boss will have to address if he is to make a success of himself at Ibrox.
1. Recruitment
Rangers’ failure to fight their way out of the Sky Bet Championship only highlighted the extent of the shambolic transfer policy embarked on by former boss Ally McCoist.
The club’s record scorer preferred to place his trust in players who were tried and tested at the club as he re-signed the likes of Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd, or brought in men who had caused Gers trouble with other clubs, such as striker Jon Daly.
But with 11 players now out of contract and unlikely to be lured back, Warburton will have a fresh slate to work with. However, the 52-year-old will have to come up with a more structured recruitment system than his predecessor employed.
2. Scouting
McCoist blamed many of the problems he faced as boss on the fact he had no real network of spies to fall back on as he looked to strengthen his squad.
The club’s liquidation nightmare cost the club dearly as many of its most loyal servants were dispensed with and the scouting department was among the hardest hit.
Warburton will be expected to make use of his contacts south of the border when looking to bring in fresh talent but the former City of London trader will have to press chairman Dave King into making sure a list of replacement scouts are hired quickly.
3. Youth development
Murray Park cost the club £14million to build back in 2001 but the cash returns from the youth academy there have been scant since.
Alan Hutton was sold to Tottenham for £9million seven years ago, but apart from that no other Murray Park graduate has moved on for a significant sum.
McCoist was reluctant to turn to his youngsters during the journey up from the Third Division but Stuart McCall showed there were decent resources available in the reserves as he handed Andy Murdoch and Tom Walsh chances to shine.
But Warburton will have to rebuild a youth set-up that has underperformed for too long.
4. Style of play
Despite having the second biggest budget in Scottish football, the performances produced by Rangers over the last three years rarely peaked above dire.
Things did improve slightly when McCall took over but if King wants to fulfil his aim of selling out the club’s season tickets, Warburton will have to put a team out on the park worthy of a full Ibrox.
The Light Blues faithful have endured much since Valentine’s Day 2012, when their team was cast into administration. Some attractive football will be the best way to heal their wounds.
5. Managing expectations
If Warburton thinks leading Brentford will have prepared him for life as Rangers boss, he is in for the rudest awakening of his life.
Not only will he have to deal with the pressure of working in front of 50,000 Gers fans, who will be demanding nothing short of success, every second week, he will have a similar amount from the other half of the city ready to pounce on his every mistake if he does not get things right.
King has already declared he will spend “whatever it takes” to get Rangers promoted this year but that will only heap extra weight on to Warburton shoulders if things go against him. He had better hope he has the stomach for the job.
Source: SNAPPA
