Rangers are shaping their summer transfer activity around a philosophy that prioritises Scottish players and what their fanbase describes as cultural alignment with the club.
The pursuit of Lawrence Shankland from Hearts represents the opening move in a recruitment approach built around affordability and perceived mental toughness.
Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh recently stated the club would prioritise Scottish players and those already competing in the Scottish Premiership, a policy that has drawn significant scrutiny.
The strategy is not purely financial, though cost is clearly a factor. The underlying belief driving recruitment decisions is that signing players who identify deeply with Rangers will produce better results.
Rangers supporters and sections of the club’s hierarchy appear convinced that assembling a squad of players who harbour strong anti-Celtic sentiment will translate into competitive performances on the pitch.
Critics of the approach argue this represents a fundamental misreading of what actually produces title-winning football, pointing to Celtic’s recent dominance without a squad noted for physical steel.
Celtic secured the Premiership title despite a midfield that analysts noted could be physically overrun, suggesting that quality and self-belief outweigh raw determination as competitive factors.
The Steven Gerrard-era title success, which Rangers supporters cite as evidence that cultural alignment works, came during a season heavily disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, a circumstance unlikely to repeat.
Gerrard’s title-winning squad included players like Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield, though commentators note that squad was far from a purely staunch construction from start to finish.
The argument that Rangers are simply retreating to an earlier era, evoking names like McCoist, Durrant and Ferguson, suggests the club may be responding to fan pressure rather than sound strategic thinking.
Budget constraints are also shaping the policy, with Rangers unable to spend heavily until player sales free up funds, making domestic and free transfers practically attractive options regardless of identity considerations.
Dan Neil from Sunderland is another reported target, fitting the profile of an experienced, lower-cost addition who brings physicality rather than high-end technical quality to the squad.
Journalists and pundits have already begun framing the Shankland deal as potentially the signing of the summer, a claim that observers note arrives less than 24 hours after the season concluded.
Rangers finished third in the Premiership this season despite a January transfer window that was widely praised at the time, a pattern that adds context to early transfer window enthusiasm.
The core argument against the staunch strategy is straightforward: hatred of a rival club does not compensate for a lack of the baseline talent required to compete for a championship.
Players who genuinely stand out in the Scottish Premiership over multiple seasons, rather than one-year performers, represent real value, and those players rarely become available through the channels Rangers are currently exploring.
Celtic’s consistent success over the past decade has been built on signing players capable of growing beyond Scottish football, a model that has maintained a structural gap between the clubs.
The Rangers approach, critics argue, risks reinforcing insularity rather than challenging it, locking the club into a cycle that makes genuine title competition with Celtic increasingly difficult to achieve.
About the Author
