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Barry Ferguson warns Gerrard to splash the cash now or face further failure

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Image for Barry Ferguson warns Gerrard to splash the cash now or face further failure

Barry Ferguson hasn’t been listening or paying attention.

After signing Jon McLaughlin on a free transfer from the third tier of English football Steven Gerrard warned Ibrox fans that they would need to be patient over new signings.

Since the 2019/20 season ended in a shambles the Liverpool legend has added two players to his squad of losers. Calvin Bassey was snatched from Leicester without having played a professional match while McLaughlin was part of the Sunderland squad that failed to make the League One Play Offs. Finishing behind Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town in EIGHTH place.

Andy Halliday, Wes Foderingham, Jordan Rossiter, Jon Flanagan and Jason Holt have left on free transfers.

Gerrard has five weeks to get a squad together for the opening SPFL match which will be followed by the potentially humiliating Europa League return tie against Bayer Leverkusen.

Looking to stop 10-in-a-row Ferguson tells Daily Record readers:

Recruitment across all leagues and countries has been slow for a reason and it’s slowly picking back up as lockdown is eased and clubs start to play again and return to training.

I believe Gerrard knows who he wants and everything I heard from him was encouraging. Rangers need to strengthen across all areas of the pitch but he doesn’t need squad players, he needs immediate impact players.

It also has to be players who understand just what this season means to the club in terms of trying to stop Celtic getting to 10 in a row. No ifs or buts, Rangers will need to win a trophy this season and he needs to bring in players who understand that, who understand the pressure and can cope with the demands placed on them.

It’s about being at it for every game, every single day you go into training there needs to be standards set. It’s about getting results and at times that can be regardless of how well you play.

It’s about the be all and end all of banking three points. That’s the mentality required for this season and I’m sure Gerrard knows that.

During the first six months of last season nobody could question Rangers. It was only after the winter break that the question marks appeared as to whether the players could handle those demands and pressures.

The manager has spoken about that in recent months and he needs to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Football is all about contacts so having Ross Wilson in as director of football is a huge asset as there’s no doubt he knows many people in the game.

No matter the size of any club, the most important department is recruitment and this time, more than ever, it has to be bang on the button at Ibrox.

The addition of another defender, a central midfielder and another striker will be high on the wish list. It’s going to be a massive season for Ross. How he uses his contacts is going to be key as is whether he’s identified the right players.

Only players genuinely capable of playing every week in the starting XI need apply. There’s far too much on the line to be carrying passengers.

Wilson’s most important task is to raise money by selling players, something that he failed to achieve in January. If he doubts how vital that is to the club, he should contact former transfer guru Mark Allen.

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