IT was a season of many memories but only one medal worth keeping. This time around, it is all about the silverware for Rangers.
Any campaign that ends with only the Scottish Cup being lifted must, on the face of it, be classed as a relative failure. Yet that fact does not tell the true story of a term that saw history made but the record books ultimately not rewritten as European glory evaded Giovanni van Bronckhorst in Seville.
Had that crushing, cruel defeat not been followed by the victory over Hearts at Hampden just a couple of days later, the Dutchman’s first season back at Ibrox would have taken on a very different complexion. As it stands, Rangers can now build for the future.
There was a feeling that last term was the end of an era at Ibrox, but it has been more evolution than revolution so far as the core of the squad that allowed supporters to dare to dream in Europe has been retained. Crucially, it has been supplemented in the right areas.
The sales of Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey, to Southampton and Ajax respectively, were the right moves at the right time for all concerned and both players leave with their reputations enhanced and with the gratitude of supporters at the end of their Ibrox careers.
Time will tell how long Aribo will have the distinction of being the last man to score for Rangers in a European final, while Bassey, the Man of the Match on that emotional, dramatic evening, is the shining light of a transfer model that has been stepped up this summer.
Those exploits on the continent showed Van Bronckhorst’s side at their finest and Ibrox at its most raucous as Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig were taken on and overcome during a wonderful run that will live long in the memory.
Yet those incredible exploits in the Europa League were juxtaposed by Rangers’ struggles domestically. A season that saw the bar raised in one regard also played host to a slipping of standards that undermined the defence of their 55th league title.
In truth, it was a largely abject one. Ruthless and relentless on their way to an invincible Premiership crown, Rangers were ragged and at times rotten as momentum was too readily lost, both before and after Steven Gerrard’s departure for Aston Villa.
To relinquish a six-point lead at the midway stage of the season and lose the league with a couple of games to go is shameful. The advantages squandered against the likes of Motherwell and Ross County were scandalous and cannot be allowed to be repeated. It was a season permeated with individual mistakes and collective failings as Rangers’ weaknesses – both mentally and tactically – were exposed by opposition who should have been taken care of.
Van Bronckhorst is fully aware of the reasons behind that collapse. Most importantly, he knows how to address the faults.
The acquisitions of Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz have accounted for the loss of Bassey, while John Souttar was a no-brainer of a deal as he signed from Hearts. Above all, though, the new contract for Connor Goldson stands out as a hugely significant bit of business.
The problematic berth wide on the right has been addressed with the signing of Rabbi Matondo, while Tom Lawrence and Malik Tillman will be tasked with adding the goals from midfield that were so obviously absent last time around.
The opening weeks of the campaign will see the spotlight shine on Antonio Colak. The pursuit of the Croatian was lengthy, but with Alfredo Morelos still working his way back to full fitness, Colak has little time to get up to speed at Ibrox.
The squad has been refreshed and Van Bronckhorst has cut a reinvigorated figure in the build-up to the season, the Dutchman motivated by the lure of further silverware and even more determined to succeed after the two painful failures endured in May.
Qualification for the Champions League is the next step that Rangers must take in European terms, while the Premiership title is non-negotiable. The Scottish Cup has to be retained and the League Cup lifted during a season that again offers plenty of promise.
Rangers were unable to build on 55. Now the former champions are the challengers once again as Van Bronckhorst seeks to ensure progress is made from events in Seville and at Hampden.
He knows as well as anyone that winning is all that matters at Rangers and those he has brought to the club this summer will have to realise that fact as a matter of urgency. Minds only have to be cast back twelve months to show the perils of a slow start at home and abroad.
It will be another season of moments and memories. Above all else, it must be one of medals as Rangers seek to add to a roll of honour that should have had more entries inscribed on it over the last four seasons.
Manager: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Captain: James Tavernier
Key Player: James Tavernier. Captain, leader. Legend? That last bit is up for debate but the right-back will leave his own legacy at Ibrox when his career does come to an end. That will, of course, not be any time soon after he signed a new deal that will take him beyond a testimonial campaign and Tavernier’s influence shows no sign of diminishing. His goal and assist rate last term was remarkable once again but the numbers only tell part of the story as the skipper seeks to write another chapter this term.
In: John Souttar (Hearts), Antonio Colak (PAOK), Tom Lawrence (Derby County), Rabbi Matondo (Schalke 04), Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich), Ben Davies (Liverpool), Ridvan Yilmaz (Besiktas)
Out: Cedric Itten (Young Boys), Leon Balogun (released), Andy Firth (Connah’s Quay Nomads), Lewis Mayo (Kilmarnock), Jake Hastie (Hartlepool), Joe Aribo (Southampton), Kai Kennedy (Falkirk), Calvin Bassey (Ajax), Josh McPake (Queen’s Park)
Last Season: It promised much but only delivered a Scottish Cup medal. Rangers failed to build on title 55 domestically but exceeded all expectations in the Europa League. The final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt still stings, and it will do for some time to come.
