Derek Johnstone fears that Sevco are losing ground for NEXT season.
Twelve months ago Pedro Caixinha was in place to assess the squad he inherited from Mark Warburton and decide which of Pedro Mendes’ clients he would take to Ibrox for the season ahead.
Mark Allen was portrayed as a miracle worker when he brought in a couple of loan deals in January but the Sevco Director of Football will have his work cut out this summer with expectations raised.
Producing a manager to shift season tickets is critical to the Ibrox business plan but with four loanees returning to their parent club in May the new man at Ibrox will be starting from scratch as they attempt to halt eight-in-a-row.
Writing in the Evening Times Johnstone explains: “Mark can be putting the groundwork in in terms of drawing up lists of potential targets and sounding people out but Rangers can’t push the button on any player until they have a manager in.
“Decisions must also be made on the players that are here on loan and the ones that are out of contract come the summer.
“It is a very crucial time of the year for any club but Rangers find themselves a difficult situation right now. Big decisions need made and the board can’t afford to get them wrong.
“Across the city,Brendan Rodgers will be going through the same process with his staff. He will be looking at players to leave, players to come in and putting his plans in place.
“You have to do that. You always have to plan ahead in football but Rangers haven’t been able to do that long-term because there has been uncertainly over who the manager will be.”
Johnstone added: “If you wait until the end of the season, you are into the middle of May and you only have a few weeks to prepare for the Europa League qualifiers and then you are straight into the Premiership fixtures.
“If you have any ambitions of challenging for the title next season, you have to get off to a good start.
“And we know how important European football is for Rangers in terms of prestige and finances.”
Johnstone made no comment on Sevco’s failure to publish interim accounts or Dave King’s lies about producing £11m to underwrite a share issue.
