Rangers’ opening match of the 22/23 season gave 23 players a workout yesterday at Auchenhowie with quite a few of the present squad not featuring at all.

McLaughlin, Tavernier, Lundstram, Goldson, S. Wright, Sakala, Arfield, Middleton, King, Lowry, Devine were the first half, followed by McCrorie, Zukowski, Sands, Katic, Simpson, McKinnon, Kelly, Weston, and McCausland in the second, with a cameo for Ure.

Richie-Hosler, Miller K Wright and Fraser were the four on the bench not to feature at all and Filip Helander, Ryan Jack and Allan McGregor (among others) sat the squad out entirely.

There are a glut of players who will not be joining till next week, plus long term injury absentees, so here’s who’s still to return:

Alfredo Morelos, Ianis Hagi, the aforementioned Helander, Kamara, Bassey, Kent, Aribo, and Barisic to name but eight are not yet involved, so it’s very, very sketchy at this point.

But of course preseason is now a week old so we can’t really judge anything yet.

The situations with contracts doesn’t help matters, Gio doesn’t know what or who he will be working with come September the 1st or even next week, so he’s making the best of what he has.

In fairness, of yesterday’s squad, McLaughlin, Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Zukowski, Lundstram, Kelly, Sakala, Arfield and Lowry isn’t the most horrible XI of all time.

But it certainly is some way off Rangers’ best possible.

It’s early in the window, and preseason has begun, and we certainly hope player situations wrap up quickly, be they new contracts or sales, while we hope a signing or two begins.

It’s just watch, and wait at this point.