Rangers Chairman Promises More Signings Amidst Challenging Start

Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh has promised more reinforcements and accepted that the club’s stuttering start under Derek McInnes is falling short of expectations.

Nine players have already come through the Ibrox doors this summer. One point from two Premiership games and a 2-1 deficit to Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Europa League say the rebuild is nowhere near complete.

“Clunky” rebuild and more signings to come

Facing shareholders at an open forum in Glasgow, Cavenagh did not attempt to dress up the early evidence.

“There's certainly work to be done,” he admitted, describing the club’s transfer business so far as “clunky” while stressing the effort going on behind the scenes to turn that into success.

He expects more movement before the window shuts.

“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.”

Rangers have already embarked on a sweeping overhaul of the squad, but the chairman’s words made clear that this is only phase one. Underperformance on the pitch is forcing the pace.

Results not good enough

McInnes has endured a difficult opening to life in the Ibrox dugout. A single league point, a painful 2-1 defeat to Hibernian on Sunday and that first-leg setback in Poland have quickly tested the optimism that greeted his arrival.

Cavenagh did not shy away from the gap between the board’s ambition and the reality of the first three competitive games.

“When we came in around a year ago, our ambition was sustained winning and winning sustainably,” he said. “I understand we're not there yet; I'm more optimistic now than I was a year ago.

“We could look at how things have gone in the first three games and sit here and sulk, but we're not going to do that.

“When we came in, we realised finishing second and sometimes worse was seeping into every corner of this club and we had to change that, but it takes time.”

The message was blunt: standards must rise, but the board is not about to flinch from the longer-term project.

High stakes before the window shuts

Rangers’ schedule gives them no breathing space. On Thursday they host Jagiellonia in a pivotal second leg at Ibrox, knowing that either Larne or Iberia Tbilisi lie in wait in the Europa League play-offs if they turn the tie around.

“It sucks that we have to play a number of important games before the window closes but that's how it works,” Cavenagh said.

The frustration is obvious. McInnes is trying to bed in a new team while key positions are still being addressed and players may yet be moved on. Every misstep in Europe carries both sporting and financial consequences for a club that has set “sustained winning” as its benchmark.

McInnes chosen as “Klopp-style” leader

Chief executive Jim Gillespie, sitting alongside Cavenagh and shareholder Paraag Marathe, fielded questions about the decision to appoint McInnes, who came agonisingly close to the title with Heart of Midlothian last season.

“You can go for a Pep [Guardiola] style manager or a [Jurgen] Klopp style manager – we wanted a Klopp-style manager who plays on the front foot,” Gillespie explained.

“Derek has been high on our list for a long time and we think he fits the style and culture of this club.”

The board wants aggression, intensity and proactive football. Early results have not matched that vision, but their language around McInnes remains firm: this is the man they believe can reshape the team’s identity as well as its league position.

VAR fury and a call for answers

Gillespie also confirmed that Rangers have contacted the SFA seeking clarity over the VAR intervention that led to Hibernian’s penalty in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat.

“It was my understanding that it has to be a clear and obvious error for the referee to be called over,” he said. “I didn't see that as either clear or obvious.

“We need a strategy for developing referees and VAR.

“My question for the SFA would be ‘what is the strategy for improvement?’ – we have to get improvement.”

The club’s irritation with officiating is not new, but this was more than a post-match grumble. Gillespie framed it as a structural issue, demanding a plan rather than a one-off explanation.

As Rangers brace for a decisive European night and scramble to complete the next wave of signings, that question – about standards, about improvement – hangs over more than just the referees.