Kris Boyd welcomed John Gilligan’s Rangers address as interim chairman but he reckons he couldn’t share what the Ibrox board are REALLY thinking.
Gilligan claimed investment is coming and that Philippe Clement will have money to spend in January – crucially, without having to jettison more of his current squad before splashing out on new signing. But Boyd has zeroed in on what he suspects Gilligan couldn’t admit – that it will take four or five windows for Gers to get to where they want to be in relation to Celtic.
The Light Blues trail their rivals by five points in the title race, and the Hoops’ spending power has only increased after banking the Champions League riches yet again as well as boosting their income in the latest set of financial results. And while there will be a realisation amongst fans that it will take time to start reeling the neighbours in, it’s not something the club can come out and say publicly
“They will catch Aberdeen but Celtic will be a difficult challenge,” said the former Gers striker. “On the pitch and off it right now, there a way ahead of Rangers and Rangers need to strive to get to that level and I’m sure they will. It’s always nice to hear from someone in a high position at Rangers and speak the way that John Gilligan did the other day there. I thought he was open and transparent, fronted it up and said what needed to be said.
“He can’t come out and say it’s going to take four or five transfer windows and we’re going to write off a couple of seasons because you don’t get that at Rangers. That might be the thoughts behind the scenes in terms of it taking a couple of seasons to get back on track but the reality is, they won’t get that time. They’ve backed Philippe Clement in terms of transfers and by all reports, they’re going to do the exact same again. Thats’ exactly what needs t happen if you’re going to improve.
“If you back to Steven Gerrard’s time, Rangers stalled and fell asleep at the wheel. You could see it happening back then. They didn’t improve on a title winning team and all of a sudden it came back to bite them on the backside and that’s where Ranges have been now for a number of years. Right now it’s about building the blocks to take the club forward again.”
Gilligan emphatically backed Clement, waxing lyrical about the Belgian’s intelligence and confirmed that he board see him as being in charge for the long term. He was handed a new contract in the summer but Boyd warned that job security will only last as long as results remain acceptable.
He told Sky Sports: “That was evident in the summer when Philippe Clement was able to get rid of a lot of the old guard shall we say. You’re not going to be able to that and then not be allowed to build your own squad. There’s no doubt Rangers were paying wages that were too high and they’ve had to trim the squad and go again. It’s like everything else though and we’ve seen it before. Managers get backed and then all of a sudden results aren’t the way the club and fans want. Then he loses his job.
“Clement will know that it’s well and good getting the backing. You need to win games of football. You win games of football, you’ll be fine. Rangers right now have an opportunity to go and do that over the next few weeks and see where it takes them. The players will be looking at it and there is that relief there that potentially, there isn’t going to be another change because that’s the thing with Rangers over the last few years; it’s just been turnover after turnover and you can’t run a business like that.”