Roundup: 48 hectic hours at Ibrox

Well if the past 48 have not been some of the most ‘eventful’ at Ibrox in some time…

It seems pertinent to try to make sense of the latest official and (less) official stories surrounding our Club and try to organise it into some sort of order.

First the official stuff – there has been a big Academy reshuffle, with four ex-players returning to work with the kids. Peter Lovenkrands, rejected for the assistant job, is handed a part time gig with the intermediates, while Brian Gilmour will work alongside him. Stephen Wright returns to coach with the U15s while Andy Little is back at Auchenhowie to tutor the 9s and upwards.

It spells a period of trying to balance up the club’s core values with some respected ex-players getting a chance to impart their knowledge on the youth setup so tomorrow’s players will be better equipped to understand what this club truly means.

Meanwhile the transfer situation in the seniors has hit a chaotic 24 hours. Reports have been made that eight players are up for sale; if Pedro thought he had nailed the mole, he had better think again.

Joe Garner, Barrie McKay, Harry Forrester, Matt Crooks, Josh Windass, Rob Kiernan, Martyn Waghorn, James Tavernier and Michael O’Halloran are all said to be available on the market, with the latter said to be part of a swap-plus-cash deal for Motherwell’s Louis Moult.

Ipswich have been reported to already be in for Garner, a price tag a third of what Warburton wasted on him being quoted, while McKay’s tag is reported to be a modest £2M.

Prices for the rest are mostly modest as well in the six-figure range, with Kiernan only expected to fetch sub-£200K.

Just how much we believe these stories is another matter though. And the same applies to the latest with defensive target Bruno Alves. If the reports are to be taken at face value, discussions between both clubs have not gone terribly well and after giving his word to Caixinha that he would quit Cagliari for Ibrox, the Sardinians have now apparently offered him instead to Turkish cracks Galatasaray.

Meanwhile Callum Paterson now looks set for Cardiff rather than Govan with recent claims that the Welsh side are set to snap him up from Hearts rather than Rangers seizing him.

In truth, none of this is really what Rangers fans want or need to hear. The rebuild which had been underway in earnest still has not got going yet – even the Jack story still is not 100% confirmed, albeit Aberdeen bitterly took the captaincy off him for the cup final. Given the climate of late, we would barely be surprised if he was off to the MLS rather than Ibrox.

And last but not least the resignation of director John Gilligan. Following his altercation in the director’s box at Ibrox with fans and the negative reports it generated it may be the former Tennent’s man has had enough of boardrooms and feels the time was right to bow out. Some will be grateful to him, others probably nonplussed about his contribution.

But on and off the pitch we need progress, and very soon.