Strained Rangers told to follow Celtic model, sign Hearts player and slap 'cash-in' fee on star man

Former Rangers defender Alan Hutton believes that manager Philippe Clement goes into the 2024/25 season already under pressure due to the way the previous campaign ended.

Clement arrived as Rangers boss last October and won the League Cup two months later. However, despite holding a lead at one point in the title race, the Ibrox outfit ended up second best to Celtic once more and then lost the Scottish Cup final to Brendan Rodgers' men in the last match of the season.

Rangers are now embarking on a serious recruitment drive, with Jefte, Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron and Oscar Cortes all signed up for the 2024/25 campaign - with more players expected to follow. Hutton, who played for Rangers between 2002 and 2008, says there is a fierce scrutiny on signings and that Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland should still be a target for the club.

Philippe Clement is already under pressure at Rangers, according to Alan Hutton. | SNS Group

Hutton said: “Philippe Clement is under pressure already after how Rangers finished last season, they didn’t beat Celtic in the league and lost in the Scottish Cup final, that’s not good enough and it has to be better.

“Recruitment needs to be better, for me there’s too much player turnover at Rangers, they need to build a settled team like at Celtic. They let five players go this year and brought in some players, but they’re all young and inexperienced. They haven’t played in the league and need time to adjust to how intense it is with the fans. I thought they should’ve gone for Lawrence Shankland last season and I still think they should go for him this season, but I think they will look for a younger option.

“There’s so many questions over Rangers this season, will Connor Goldson stay? Will James Tavernier stay? These are top players that may need replacing. There’s a lot of pressure on the manager as the recruitment needs to be right so that they can hit the ground running after last year because of how they finished last season.”

Alan Hutton would like to see Lawrence Shankland in Rangers colours. | SNS Group

The future of Tavernier is up for debate, with the Rangers captain reported to be of interest to clubs in Saudi Arabia. Hutton still feels Tavernier is hugely important to the team and that, if tempted to sell, the Rangers hierarchy must command top dollar.

“It would be tough to see James Tavernier leave Rangers,” Hutton said. “You just have to look at his numbers, he’s second top goalscorer behind Cyriel Dessers from full-back. You look at Tom Lawrence and Todd Cantwell, they need to start contributing more. Losing James Tavernier would be a big blow, he’d be very tough to replace."

Hutton added: “If you’re going to cash in, you must get as big a fee as possible, so you can reinvest it into the squad.”