Rangers’ first season back in the Scottish Premiership did not prove to be a successful one, although perhaps it wasn’t as bad as some fans and pundits have made out.
Mark Warburton brought in several players experienced in English Premiership football to try and add some top level talent to the squad but it can be fair to say that most of those signings were an almost immediate flop. Joey Barton was released from the club following a training ground bust-up after a 5-1 defeat by Celtic (one of two this season) and Niko Kranjcar suffered a season ending injury before he could really get going. Clint Hill however proved to be the best purchase of the summer, being always reliable and a regular starter.
Rangers struggled to keep pace with Aberdeen in second throughout the season and from early on it looked like third could be the best they would hope for and so it proved. With Celtic’s record breaking season there was never any chance of them troubling at the top. A third place finish means they have Europa League football to look forward to next season, bringing European nights to Ibrox for the first time in many years.
The cups didn’t prove too disastrous with Rangers making it to the semi-finals of both and being put out of both by Celtic as expected. Celtic’s form meant there wasn’t much else they could achieve.
Mark Warburton was dismissed as manager to be replaced by Pedro Caixinha who now has a rebuilding process on his hands and he is in the process of deciding which players will stay and who will leave, but it’s believed his hands may be tied on bringing in players due to financial restraints.
