As the season approaches its final stages the attention of Rangers fans is already on a huge summer for their football club.
Manager Michael Beale has already confirmed that major change is afoot in terms of the Ibrox squad and after today’s game against Hibernian, the club are expected to announce a list of players that will depart Glasgow come the end of the campaign.
High-profile stars Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent are widely expected to be amongst those, while veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor also looks to be calling time on his illustrious career.
Beale will be aiming to put his stamp on his Rangers squad this summer and his first two signings of Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin have already got supporters excited for the future, given their impressive impact so far this term since January.
Beale though, is keeping level-headed as he knows there is a huge task in hand over the close season to try and bring his side back to a level, where they can challenge for trophies with Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic.
He explained: “In the last few weeks it has been busy as I have travelled extensively to have meetings with players in person.
“With Todd Cantwell I had three meetings, not one, it was the same with Nico Raskin. The players want clarity from me, I want clarity from them. It also gives me a feel for the relationship we will have.
“You meet them once and everything is rosy but you have to stay in the room and keep asking questions.
“I enjoy that part of it as the boys I pick, I am aware that if I don’t get them right then the fingers will point at me this time and not someone else.
“When you are in a room you get a feeling for what the group needs. You weigh up what is missing. When you meet players you think where they will fit into the group as a player as well as socially.
“People underestimate that aspect of it. Todd moved for the first time permanently when he came in from Norwich, it was the same with Nico as well when he arrived from Belgium.
“Sometimes it takes time for people to settle. Ridvan was living close to his family in Istanbul and didn’t speak great English and then he got injured.
“He played at the weekend against Celtic and everyone says that was a bit of a surprise. I watched him play for Turkey against Italy so I wasn’t surprised.
“You have to acclimatise to the pressure of playing for this club and trying to win the league.”
At the top level, there has been change already for Rangers with chairman Douglas Park moving on and also sporting director Ross Wilson.
Beale insists both departures have not impacted his transfer plans and he insists his working relationship with chief scout John Park is a very positive one.
He continued: “We have got a lot closer and I am a coach who has always been heavily involved in recruitment.
“It’s not just John, we have a team underneath him. We have analysts who look at things and any players that come out we will look at them.
“We have scouts around Europe, in pretty much every country. The infrastructure Ross Wilson put in is top notch so we have a number of chief scouts.
“A lot of the players you will be able to work back to me one way or another. They have maybe played against my team, we tried to sign them before or I have worked with them before.
“I think that is because we need to move fast and bring in players I have a good relationship with and I know their levels and personalities.
“That ticks a lot of boxes but we aren’t just looking in Scotland and England and we are looking further afield.”
Asked if it was important for his Rangers side to have a solid base of Scottish players, Beale explained: “If we feel there is a Scottish player who would make our team stronger we would look to buy them.
“The other thing is that in European competition you need home grown players. The B list can be as long as you like so it is important the younger players get a chance.
“You don’t just have senior players in your squad because they are Scottish. I don’t think the Lowland League is a good bridge so we need to look at other games.
“In the last month or so the B Team have played Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Celtic a few times as well as Sunderland.
“It is important to give those boys a bridge and create an almost old fashioned reserve team where the boys who aren’t playing for me play with the young boys.
“When I look around the league, the Scottish have a premium as everyone is aware there is a shortage to go around. It is also important if I can’t find it outside then we try to develop it from the inside.”
Voting for a new Conference League in Scotland that will include B teams from some of the country's top clubs is set to take place in the coming weeks.
But Beale is not 100 per cent certain that the division will work in favour of his side. He said: “The Lowland League is too restrictive as it is Under-21 currently.
“So what do you do with Ianis Hagi, John Souttar, Robby McCrorie, Rabbi Matondo when they come back from injury?
“Our B team play as many games as the first team so when do they mix with the first team and train with them.
“I understand why it has been put in but I think it is restrictive and repetitive for the players in terms of style and the stadiums they play in.
“For me, I would like a programme that is more creative and bespoke and can do.
“The club are really pushing, with other clubs, to get the teams in the pyramid like in Portugal, Holland and Germany.
“We have pushed and it is important the people making the decisions enable us some oxygen and light at the end of the tunnel.
“We have that with the Conference League vote coming up. Will that prepare my young players to be involved in the Europa League and Champions League? Not so much.
“But if we can play Chelsea, Liverpool etc then I think you can somehow bridge the gap.
“If an academy and B team is there to support the first team, I don’t like a programme stopping the likes of Hagi and McCrorie playing games. I think it should be open age.”
Looking ahead to Hibernian, Beale was asked if the fixture could act as a final chance for players to fight for their future at Ibrox.
He added: “My mind isn’t made up completely but we have had some bad days and they live longer than the nice days.
“Last week we played with a lot of energy and we got our just desserts on the day.
“We have had three or four performances like that since I have come back that have excited me.
“I am not someone who wants us to rely on our football alone in terms of possession. I like it when we are good out of possession, keep clean sheets and are hard to beat.
“That is what I want to add this summer, energy and personality and athleticism. We lost a lot of that in the team.”
