It wasn’t so much the winds of change that were expected to blow through Ibrox but instead a hurricane was predicted. Yet if there is to be a major summer rebuild at Rangers then it is certainly taking a bit of time to pick up pace.
And instead of Giovanni van Bronckhorst performing major surgery on his squad fans are now fearing it will be a case of the same old. So far, the only transfer business has been a bit of housekeeping with Allan McGregor following on from fellow veterans Steven Davis and Scott Arfield in signing new deals. Rangers players return to pre-season on June 27 and as it stands there will be no new faces at the club’s Auchenhowie training ground.
There will still be four weeks until the Ibrox side kick off their Scottish Premiership campaign at Livingston but it doesn’t leave sporting director Ross Wilson much time to find new signings and for Van Bronckhorst to get them up to speed with their new surroundings.
Or maybe the Dutchman is happy with the core of his squad that has served the club so well over the past four years,
No matter, of Steven Gerrard’s first league starting line-up at Pittodrie four years ago SEVEN of them could be in the XI at the Tony Macaroni Arena next month.
The only players to have left the club from that team are Jon Flanagan, Lassana Coulibaly, Josh Windass and Jamie Murphy.
Of the team who started at Rugby Park 12 months later only two have departed Ibrox – Wes Foderingham and Sheyi Ojo.
And from the side that started the opening game of the last two seasons, Van Bronckhorst could call upon TEN of the starting XI.
It looked like it was going to be the end of an era after the Scottish Cup Final win over Hearts at Hampden.
McGregor was given what looked like a farewell with his cameo while there was speculation surrounding Connor Goldson who hadn’t signed a new deal only to later pen an extension.
Stalwarts Davis and Arfield also signed one-year deals while it remains to be seen what will happen with the likes of Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara, Calvin Bassey, Borna Barisic and Alfredo Morelos.
But if they stick around then it could be a familiar team that takes to the field in west Lothian and here Record Sport looks at the line-ups on the opening day of each of the last four seasons.
2018/19
Aberdeen (a): McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Flanagan, Jack, Windass, Coulibaly, Arfield, Murphy, Morelos
2019/20
Kilmarnock (a): Foderingham, Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Barisic, Jack, Davis, Ojo, Aribo, Arfield, Morelos
2020/21
Aberdeen (a): McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Barisic, Hagi, Jack, Aribo, Kamara, Kent, Morelos
2021/22
Livingston (h): McLaughlin, Tavernier, Bassey, Goldson, Balogun, Hagi, Davis, Aribo, Kamara, Kent, Sakala
