If there is one thing that is abundantly clear about Rangers at the present moment, and indeed the tail end of last season, it is that our defence is desperate. At the current moment, Rangers have, in total, two central defenders, Ben Godfrey and Emmanuel Fernandez. At right back, we have just Dujon Sterling and potentially Ross McCrorie, both of whom are flexible utility players and not necessarily primarily right backs. At left back, it is just Tuur Rommens.
Rangers need defensive reinforcements
Rangers’ defensive situation is chronic. John Souttar, as we know, remained at home for the Spanish camp and is negotiating a transfer away. That looks like either Sheffield United or Leicester City. At the moment, nobody else is coming in. Ibrox Noise is aware of one or two players Rangers are looking at. Olwethu Makhanya who currently plays for Philadelphia Union, and whose name nobody can pronounce, is one such candidate. There are a few others in the pipeline, but none are close to being advanced.
Depth remains a major concern
Consequently, Rangers’ rearguard is nowhere near ready for Saint Étienne, never mind Dundee United. It is a situation of mild urgency at this point. Rangers have been working tirelessly to bring players in, but the vast bulk have been midfielders. The only defenders who have arrived have been Ben Godfrey and Ross McCrorie. Ross McCrorie, of course, is primarily a defensive midfielder, but he is flexible in where he plays. In terms of anybody else, that is your lot.
Injuries could expose the squad
As such, Rangers could well be going into the new season with Dujon Sterling or Ross McCrorie at right back. The central defence would be Godfrey and Fernandez. Tuur Rommens would be at left back. On the face of it, those four are not horrible. It is a reasonable group in itself. However, it only requires one or two injuries and Rangers are suddenly in a critical situation. There is simply not any depth at the back. Rangers need to urgently fix that.
McInnes must address the issue
Naturally, we refer many times on Ibrox Noise to 2007 and what Walter Smith did when he came in during late 2006. He sorted Rangers’ defence out as his first priority. He signed Ugo Ehiogu, David Weir and defensive midfielder Kevin Thomson. These fixed things overnight. Now, this does not necessarily mean that what Derek McInnes has done thus far has not fixed Rangers overnight.
We will find out when the serious action begins on 31 July. However, at the moment, the options are sparse. That is the big problem. The lack of depth in the rearguard is definitely a significant issue which McInnes really needs to resolve ASAP. We cannot be going into the early part of the season with essentially just five defenders to choose from. It is not exactly a wealth of options. We do hope this changes quickly and we get the bodies in that we need.