Fearful Mark Hateley believes Celtic's knack for reinvention has left Rangers playing catch-up once again.
The legendary Ibrox striker was at Hampden on Sunday as his former team proved second best against Ange Postecoglou's champions after another trophy evaded their grasp. And Hateley believes the crux of Rangers' woes centres around the difference between the clubs in the transfer market. He pointed to the mammoth difference in personnel since the duo last locked horns in the League Cup Final three years ago.
Hateley, speaking to Grosvenor Casinos, said: “The Rangers starting XI had seven players in it that started the 2019/20 final against Celtic and Ryan Jack came on to make it eight. Celtic, meanwhile, only had Callum McGregor from that game in their entire squad on Sunday. That’s the difference. You have to turn things over, keep things fresh. Fans don’t see it that way, though. When you’re in a final you need to win it by hook or by crook."
Michael Beale has an uphill challenge ahead of him with the Ibrox side trailing their great rivals by nine points but Hateley thinks his task could have been made easier by club decision makers on a quartet of key men and the call to stick or twist.
He added: “A lot has been made about the money Rangers achieved in selling Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey, but if they had been kept for this season they would be worth even more. They were Rangers’ best players and yes there was a great profit. But would it not have been more astute to keep these players for the Champions League and then look to sell with their values enhanced?
“For me that was a pivotal moment in terms of making the team better because I don’t think the team is any stronger now than it was two years ago. Equally it is crazy for me that Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos have been allowed to run down their contracts.”
Hateley is on the record with his gratitude to the Ibrox board, however, he reckons everyone has a shelf life and wonders whether the time is looming for a fresh approach in a bid to bridge the gap with Celtic. And he points to Steven Gerrard's call to exit the club only months after securing a first title in a decade.
He said: “Steven Gerrard delivered the most important title of recent times and a man of his pedigree doesn’t rest on his last act. That’s why he stayed at the very top for so long. He wasn’t satisfied with one achievement and if you haven’t got a board that is compatible to a manager then that relationship is going to break – and it did do.
“Steven needed to strengthen after 55 to try to get into the Champions League. He wanted to go to the next stage, he wanted the backing and he didn’t get it and that’s why he left for Aston Villa. I think the board have done remarkably well over the period – but they are custodians of an institution.
"When you are in that position you need to know when you have done your bit and you can’t take it any further. You have to know when the time is right to let others come to the fore and make the club what it wants to be and what it should be.”
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