Rangers feel like a club permanently stuck in rebuild mode, and we’re now starting to see the real cost of that constant churn compared to the stability across the city.

Cerny, Thelwell and a needless clear-out

Cerny is a good example of what has gone wrong with our squad planning. He started poorly last season, no getting away from that, but by the end of the campaign you could argue he was probably our best player. Keeping him would at least have given us one more settled, reliable option and a bit less upheaval.

Instead we went for another big reset. For me, that’s where K. Thelwell has a lot to answer for. Hiring Martin was one thing, but then letting him move so many players on in one go was another. You can understand wanting to put your own stamp on the group, but there has to be a balance between evolution and ripping an entire team up.

We didn’t win the league last season, fair enough, but there were clearly a few players worth keeping as part of a core. Add two or three bits of real experience and quality around them and you’ve got progression. What we actually did felt closer to binning a whole starting XI and trying to replace it with young lads and short-term loans.

Why Celtic’s consistency is telling

The contrast with Celtic is painful but obvious. Over the last three games we’ve had five or six new signings in the starting line up. They’ve had about two. That alone shows you the difference in where both clubs are with their squads.

Their advantage isn’t just money or individual talent, it’s continuity. They’ve got a starting XI that has largely been together for at least a season, most of them longer, playing in big games and going all the way in title races. That breeds familiarity and calm. When the pressure is on, they’ve been there and done it.

We, on the other hand, seem to start again every year. New faces, new loans, another batch of players who still need to learn what it actually takes to win this league over 38 games. You can see it in the little details: understanding of shape, when to slow the tempo, when to speed the transitions, how to manage tricky away days. That doesn’t come overnight.

Experience you can’t just buy in bulk

The truth is, the type of experience we’re lacking is hard to fast-track. You can sign young projects and hope they develop, but if most of your team are learning on the job at the same time, it’s no surprise they look nervy when the heat is on.

Rangers need to get away from this habit of a massive summer reset and move towards building a real spine that stays together for years, not months. Keep your better performers, add a couple of seasoned pros who know what title pressure feels like, and let the group grow together.

Until we do that, it will always feel like we’re asking a brand new team to go toe-to-toe with a side that already knows exactly what it takes to finish the job.

Written by Angus1812 — 6 December 2025