5 big tasks piling up in new Rangers boss' in-tray from transfer overhaul and Euro paydays to halting Celtic

The race for the hot seat is nearing an endgame

Rangers hunt for a new boss is reaching its final stages.

Whether it be Davide Ancelotti, Russell Martin or Steven Gerrard, there’s plenty to be getting on with ahead of the new season.

The clock is already ticking to the start of the 2025-26 campaign, which for Gers kicks-off in just 55 days’ time.

The pile of tasks mounting in the new gaffer’s in-try is substantial and will have to be worked through pronto if the Light Blues are to have a serious crack at competing for silverware in the first year under the club’s in-coming American ownership.

Here Record Sport takes a look at the most pressing issues for the new man in charge.

Ins and outs

Better recruitment, put simply, has to be the No1 priority for Rangers.

For far too long their signing policy has resulted in top performers being replaced by men not up to the task, leaving Celtic to hoover up trophy after trophy.

There’s an opportunity for a clean slate this year but clearing out the deadwood won’t be easy.

Former caretaker gaffer Barry Ferguson admitted as many as a dozen new faces would be required - with the same number heading in the opposite direction.

That process began after Leon Balogun, Ianis Hagi and Tom Lawrence were all freed. Loanees Vaclav Cerny, Rafa Fernandes and Nana Kasanwirjo have also departed.

But with the likes of Rabbi Matondo, Ben Davies, Kieran Dowell and Jose Cifuentes on their way back, there is still work to be done to make room in the Ibrox dressing room.

Lyall Cameron is the only fresh recruit signed up so far but more, much more, will be needed to the new boss it get Gers back in a position where they can go the distance against Brendan Rodgers’ Double winners.

Pre-season

Ibrox bosses have confirmed their initial pre-season plans - and time is of the essence with just four weeks to go until the squad are due to report back for their warm-up preparations on June 23.

The new gaffer will then have just a month to get his team fit and tuned into his new methods before Gers begin their new era in the Champions League eliminators.

The first-leg takes place on July 22/23, with the return a week later.

Before that, Gers have their first public tune-up booked in for July 6 against Club Brugge, after which the squad will head to the English FA’s £100million training base at St George’s camp.

Another Ibrox clash against Middlesbrough is scheduled for the Saturday in-between that opening Euro tie but the new boss will have to finalise the rest of the pre-season programme once he’s in place.

European football

Rangers were caught cold last year and it cost them a £20million Champions League windfall.

The defeat to Dynamo Kyiv was the beginning of the end for Philippe Clement last season and whoever replaces the Belgian will not want to have a similar stain placed against his name so early into his Gers reign.

Seeded Rangers will learn who their second-round qualifying round opponents are when the draw is made on June 18 - with Greek outfit Panathinaikos, Swiss side Serviette and Brann of Norway the other teams in the hat.

But the road beyond that will not get any easier.

The likes of Fenerbahce and Nice - both of who Gers faced in last year’s Europa League - as well as Red Bull Salzburg of Austria and Czechs Viktoria Plzen lie in wait in round three, while Benfica and Club Brugge are possible play-off round opponents for the unseeded Gers.

Unlike league champions Celtic and Scottish Cup winners Aberdeen, the Light Blues are not guaranteed league phase action and will have to win at least one qualifier to prevent an early exit from Europe altogether.

Quick start in the Premiership

Last year, Rangers were left playing catch-up on Celtic when they stumbled out the blocks at Tynecastle, spilling two points with their goalless draw at Tynecastle.

That left the Light Blues looking at the backs of the Parkhead side for the remainder of the campaign as Rodgers’ team streaked off into the distance.

In total, Gers dropped points in 16 of their 38 fixtures and finished on just 75 points, the club’s worst performance since 2017-18 - the season before Steven Gerrard arrived to begin his Ibrox overhaul.

Clement and Ferguson both found a way to compete with Celtic in the derby showdowns but it was against the rest of the Premiership that both men struggled to get results.

Finding a greater level of consistency in the bread-and-butter clashes will ensure the new manager doesn’t find himself toast before he even gets to the Old Firm battles.

Halting Celtic

Ending this decade of Parkhead dominance is the be all and end all for the new Rangers regime.

The board they are set to replace have overseen an era in which their bitter rivals have ran off with 22 of the 30 trophies up for grabs since the year they wrestled power from Mike Ashley.

Gers may have edged the league head-to-heads with the Hoops last term but that still wasn’t enough to stop Celtic claiming a 55th league crown - matching the previous best tally set by Gers.

Now standing on 120 trophies, they have blitzed clear of Rangers’ previous benchmark of 118 - decimating the Ibrox outfit’s self-proclaimed status as the “world's most successful club”.

Rodgers’ side are now miles and millions ahead of Rangers but as Aberdeen proved on Saturday, they are not invincible.

Rangers and their new gaffer, however, are setting off from a standing start and there very well may be more difficult days ahead early on.

Showing signs of progress, as Gerrard did while his team gradually built towards their 2021 title triumph, will be key if the in-coming boss is to maintain the trust of the fanbase as he gets his feet under their table at in the Ibrox manager’s office.