The appointment of Derek McInnes as manager was supposed to represent a safe pair of hands for Rangers.
His arrival in the summer was greeted with considerable fanfare. After taking Hearts to within touching distance of the Scottish Premiership title last season, McInnes arrived at Ibrox with a reputation as one of the country’s leading managers outside the traditional big two.
The appeal was obvious.
McInnes knew the league, understood Scottish football and had just demonstrated at Hearts that he could build a team capable of challenging Celtic without the resources available to Rangers. He also had a personal connection with the club, having spent five years as a Rangers player between 1995 and 2000 and grown up supporting them.
His appointment was therefore viewed as a logical step towards restoring Rangers to where they believe they should be.
The early evidence, however, has been anything but encouraging.
Rangers have taken just one point from their opening two league matches, drawing with Dundee United at Tannadice before suffering a 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian. They are already five points behind Celtic, who have won both of their opening fixtures.
Sandwiched between those disappointing domestic results was another defeat in Europe, with Rangers losing 2-1 away to Jagiellonia Białystok in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier.
Three competitive matches. No wins.
The Hibernian defeat was particularly damaging. Rangers had home advantage and desperately needed a response following the draw at Dundee United and the European setback. Instead, they conceded a stoppage-time winner and were booed off by the Ibrox support.
This is not about declaring McInnes a failure after three games. That would be ridiculously premature.
However, Rangers appointed him because he was expected to provide certainty. In an era when predictions on the usual football apps and best online casinos are becoming more difficult, and the world of football is about taking chances teams might not have in the past, he was supposed to know the league, understand the expectations and build a side capable of challenging Celtic.
Instead, his reign has begun with Rangers playing catch-up domestically and facing a European deficit.
The club’s hierarchy recognises there is work to be done and believes the transfer market can help change the picture.
Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh admitted that their recruitment business so far has been “clunky” but insisted that the club is working hard to strengthen McInnes’ squad.
“There’s certainly work to be done,” Cavenagh told shareholders at an open forum in Glasgow.
“I don’t like putting a number on it but certainly I’d hope three to five more players are coming in and a number will possibly go out.”
Those additions could prove crucial.
McInnes needs greater depth, quality and balance within his squad if Rangers are to close the gap on Celtic and prevent an already disappointing start from becoming something considerably more damaging.
There is still plenty of time to change the narrative. Three games are nowhere near enough to judge a manager, particularly one who has inherited a squad and is still waiting for the transfer window to take shape.
But the margin for error at Ibrox is small.
Cavenagh and the Rangers hierarchy have backed McInnes as the man capable of delivering a sustained challenge to Celtic. They now have a responsibility to provide him with the squad capable of doing so.
If three to five more players arrive and improve the starting eleven, McInnes will have no excuses and a genuine opportunity to change Rangers’ trajectory.
If the recruitment remains “clunky”, however, the pressure will quickly move beyond the manager.
McInnes may have been chosen to restore stability at Rangers, but Cavenagh is the man ultimately responsible for ensuring he has the tools to succeed.
The next few weeks could therefore define more than Rangers’ transfer window. They could begin to define the credibility of the new regime at Ibrox.
McInnes needs results while Cavenagh needs recruitment to help deliver them, and after a start that has already left Rangers five points behind Celtic, neither man can afford for the situation to drift.
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