THE rebuild was more of a refresh first time around. Come next summer, it will be an overhaul that is required at Ibrox.
The coming days will provide clarity over who will lead the job from the dressing room as Rangers seek to finalise the appointment of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's successor as manager. What has never been in doubt is how significant the task will be as several weeks shape several years.
There are more pressing concerns for Rangers right now as they attempt to salvage their Premiership title ambitions and set their sights on cup successes. There will, of course, be no European distractions this time around.
But the time will soon come, and it will be here before you know it, when Rangers must address who is going, who is staying and who is coming in ahead of the first full term of a new era.
Some of that preparatory work will already have been put in place previously but the change in the dugout will alter the thinking and the requirements. Rather than tweaking the squad under the guidance of Van Bronckhorst, Rangers will now have to fund the process that allows the next boss to put his stamp on it and it will be more revolution than evolution.
Van Bronckhorst alluded to the prospect of widespread changes a few of weeks ago and there is not an area of the team and the group that does not need addressed. It will now not be the Dutchman that undertakes that work but the side that starts next term will look very different to the one that finishes the current campaign.
If James Sands and Malik Tillman are to remain at Ibrox, then funds will need to be spent to convert their loan moves, from New York City and Bayern Munich respectively, into permanent deals. Right now, the jury is still out on the American duo.
The departure of Filip Helander would be no great loss in terms of the team and will save Rangers considerable wages. That has been a deal that just hasn’t worked out as the injury-plagued Swede has been unable to prove value for money.
Three of the handful of out of contract players – Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield – were handed new one-year deals last summer and their clocks are ticking, while Ryan Jack is another stalwart of the squad who is now in the final months of his current terms.
But the most alarming situations relate to Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos as Rangers risk losing two multi-million pound assets for nothing. It would go against every aspect of the financial and transfer models in place if either one, never mind both, were to leave for free.
The nightmare scenario didn’t unfold with regards to Connor Goldson earlier this year but seeing Kent and Morelos walk out the door with no returns would be appalling in a business sense and the issue will surely be raised to Ross Wilson, the sporting director, at the AGM next month.
Rangers have to sell at the right time. Calvin Bassey’s stock was maximised last summer as he moved to Ajax but Glen Kamara is now enduring a difficult campaign and will have to be sold sooner rather than later to avoid another Bosman scenario the season after next.
The process of building up the squad to a level where it can be competitive and then successful took some time at Ibrox as European progress was followed by title 55 last May. It also saw the value of the group rise and rise and there were a handful of high-worth, sellable assets on the books not that long ago.
But for a variety of reasons – be it age, contract or form – it is difficult to pinpoint too many individuals that Rangers can bank big bucks from right now. The squad needs a fresh injection of players who can be improved, be successful and be moved on.
If Rangers need to sell before they can buy, then it is hard to see where the funds come from. Add in the fact they are unlikely to win the title and have a guaranteed Champions League bounty to count on and it begins to look tricky, to put it mildly.
Van Bronckhorst would have departed Glasgow with feelings of what might have been and frustrations at the hand he was dealt in terms of injuries. Even if everyone was fit and available, questions can be asked about just how good the team and the squad are.
Any business that Rangers do during the January window will be to tweak the group rather than transform it but the resolution in terms of the managerial situation will at least offer clarity and stability.
The Ibrox board have come under repeated criticism for the way Rangers operated in the summer, and especially after Champions League qualification was secured. But funds were spent and the wage bill was increased once again, and the more pertinent issue is why the money men are not getting value for their investments as Rangers continue to falter on the park.
The first fixtures after the World Cup break will determine if there is any new boss bounce but Rangers must have one eye on the summer already as the style of the team alters and the requirements in the market change as a result.
The Premiership title bid will ultimately be an unsuccessful endeavour for Rangers this term but failure cannot be considered come the summer. Any mistakes made are always likely to be costly but the scale of the work required means there is even less margin for error than usual.
The rebuilding job is coming once again. It will lay the foundations for years to come at Ibrox as the 18th man to hold office is, one way or another, given the chance to leave his mark on Rangers.
