Kris Boyd insists Rangers will need to sign at least seven new players in the summer if they are to challenge Celtic for the Premiership title next season.
After another season of failure on and off the pitch, the Ibrox club have been blown away as their Old Firm rivals wrapped up the league with four games still to play.
Following the 2-2 draw at St Mirren last weekend, interim manager Barry Ferguson admitted that every Rangers player is now playing for their future ahead of a huge summer rebuild.
With fresh investment on the cards if the takeover deal with 49ers Enterprises is completed, Boyd insists his old club can’t afford to make a mess of their summer recruitment.
Referencing the way Celtic were able to rebuild quickly under Ange Postecoglou following the botched ten-in-a-row season, Boyd said: ‘People look at how quickly Celtic did it.
‘I think when you go back to Celtic and everybody was expecting them to do 10 in a row, it was the end of an era for Celtic in terms of a lot of the boys there.
Kris Boyd has said there must be a drastic overhaul of the Rangers squad this summer
Boyd has watched on in agony this season as his former side have struggled domestically
Dutch defender Robin Propper is muscled out in the weekend draw at St Mirren
‘But there was also a lot of guys there who you felt could go again. It helps when you have got the money but they spent it wisely.
‘Everybody looks at it and says: “It’s easy this season when you think of Arne Engels at £11million, Adam Idah at £9m, Auston Trusty at £7m. Everybody looks at those three and you think Celtic are blowing everybody out the water with that.
‘But Celtic’s recruitment on the other side as well. Matt O’Riley £1.5m, Reo Hatate £1.5m. The £20m brought in for O’Riley [sale to Brighton] came from that.
‘The smaller fees were spot-on and that allowed them to then progress and bring in more money.
‘I’m not saying it’s a higher quality of player, but they’ve been able to spend bigger transfer fees.
‘Rangers have spent money. Mohamed Diomande cost the same as Daizen Maeda, Hatate and O’Riley [combined]. Cyriel Dessers and Kyogo Furuhashi, the same price.
Boyd was joined by a host of fellow former footballers at the iconic Trump Turnberry golf resort
‘Any football club or any manager will tell you the recruitment is key and, this summer more than ever for Rangers, it’s got to be spot-on. You can’t afford any mistakes or project players.
‘Rangers need to get, I would say, at least six or seven first-team starters that are going to come in and make a difference.
‘These players need to change the mindset within Rangers in terms of thinking that you’re just going to turn up and win games of football.
‘You need to earn the right to win games of football and right now that’s not the case at Ibrox.’
After the draw at St Mirren last weekend, interim boss Ferguson admitted that Rangers have now lost their ‘fear factor’.
With Celtic due at Ibrox on Sunday, Rangers will try to salvage some kind of positive from the campaign by claiming what would be a third league win over their rivals this season.
Ibrox skipper James Tavernier has come under fire but Boyd believes he’s not solely to blame
With sporting director Kevin Thelwell due to take charge of football operations in the summer, Boyd believes the lack of leadership is a key area that needs to be addressed.
‘For what Rangers are spending, they should be well ahead of the rest,’ said Boyd. ‘Barry Ferguson is just saying what all other fans are feeling.
‘There are times when Rangers raise their game to a good level, then other times when they look bang-average.
‘Whether the club is too big for a lot of them… because some of the performances have been absolutely nowhere near the level required for Rangers.
‘Someone needs to get a grip of the whole football club and realise it’s not been good enough. It’s not been good enough for a number of years now.
‘The thing that jumps out every single year with Rangers right now seems to be you get to knockout stages of European football and everybody’s buzzing.
Interim boss Barry Ferguson is unlikely to remain at the helm but the new boss will have a huge job on his hands
‘You’ve got some fantastic trips in there, you’ve had some fantastic games against teams in Europe and everybody will celebrate that.
‘But the reality is it’s just papered over the cracks. Domestically, it’s been absolutely miles off it and continues to be miles off it.
‘Everybody goes on about the captain as such and what he does. But if you look at any successful team, yes there’s the captain with the armband, but he also has another seven or eight leaders around him.
‘They are the guys who can drag the rest of the team with them. Even on an off-day, they will drag the rest of the team to a result.
‘But I don’t see that in this Rangers team right now. I don’t see enough leaders. At Rangers, every other team wants to beat you. You need to be big enough to deal with that.’
*Kris Boyd was speaking at his annual charity golf day at Trump Turnberry. Boyd has been raising awareness and funds for mental health since 2017.
