As we mentioned in a previous entry, Ally McCoist, the Rangers legend and manager, had of course come out strongly against Rangers’ lack of Scottish identity. He did not name manager Danny Rohl or his signing policy in January directly, but he did mention how few, aka none, there were of Scottish players in the team.
Rohl’s Scottish Recruitment Record and Rangers’ lack of Scottish identity
Rohl has gone that route as well, signing absolutely no one Scottish, and the last Scottish player that we got, of course, was Connor Barron. That one has sort of worked out in the same way that it also sort of has not. But at the end of the day, there is a complete lack of Scottish identity. John Souttar really does not shine as a great example of a Scottish player these days.
Kris Boyd Echoes McCoist
However, McCoist’s Bear mate, that is Kris Boyd, has come out with very much the same rhetoric, complaining about the lack of Scots. Now, the curious thing about this for us is that Boyd was actually sitting with Rohl at Tynecastle. We are not sure in what capacity, but the two of them did have a chat. For Boyd to then come out in the press complaining about the lack of identity and the lack of Scots is a very interesting thing to say.
Rangers’ lack of Scottish identity Concerns
Whether Rohl agrees with this or not, he himself did not sign any Scots in January. He also does not select many either. He is as guilty as anybody of having no Scottish identity in the team and indeed no Rangers identity in the team. There is not a single Rangers man in the squad, and there is not a single Rangers man on the management staff, apart, of course, from Steven Smith.
Diluted Squad Criticism
Consequently, Rangers are filled with mercenaries and are extremely diluted. It is a worrying trend and it happens from the top down. Boyd is not wrong to call Rangers’ lack of Scottish identity out, and neither is Ally McCoist, but we cannot see it changing anytime soon if we are always going to reject Scottish talent.