Michael Beale is relishing the prospect of a Rangers Premiership reset and has vowed to restore some pride in Europe after their Champions League disaster.
The Ibrox boss will embark on his first full season in the top job and mission No. 1 is taking the title off Celtic. At best, the Light Blues can finish four points behind their rivals ahead of the final weekend of fixtures. That gap wouldn't tell the whole story however, with the Hoops having been on course for a second successive crown long before the final few weeks of the campaign.
The Gers suffered the embarrassment of becoming the worst ever team to take part in the Champions League group stage. Under Gio van Bronckhorst, they failed to pick up a point against either Serie A champions Napoli, Liverpool or Ajax, finishing rock bottom of Group A with a goal difference on -20. That's a wrong Beale wants to try and put right, starting by successful negotiating the qualifying rounds and returning to the lucrative group stage.
There's a feeling of this summer being a fresh start in Govan. Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield and Filip Helander will depart. Kieran Dowell has been signed on a pre-contract from Norwich, while Jack Butland has been heavily linked with a move north to fill the McGregor-shaped hole between the sticks. Jose Cifuentes talks continue but Beale is willing to wait on targets becoming available.
Regardless of who comes in though, he knows his men must be more ruthless if they are to return to the Premiership summit. "The summer will see change and we reset to zero in the league," he said. "We also want to put things right in Europe this year.
"In the final third, we score a lot of goals but also miss a lot of chances. We will be looking to bring in players in these areas to add to what we have. The transfer window opens on the 14 June this year so still a bit of time for some players to become available.
"There is a lot of negotiating going on at the moment and I am really positive with how things are going. I am looking forward to a reset, strong players bringing in energy and playing with my style of play after a full pre-season.
"This season is done after tomorrow, and we will return to give it a right good go. We need to become more ruthless in the penalty box and take our chances when they come.
"My excitement for this summer is because I see the work we are doing in the background. We will come out in a much stronger place for sure and be in a much stronger place mentally.
"I've been away meeting players in between games, we may need to be patient on one or two but we will act quickly before pre-season. We want players to come in and be key players."
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