If owner Craig Whyte has the best interests of Rangers at heart, he will do everything possible to retain the championship
Ally McCoist appears perfectly relaxed when discussing Rangers' transfer plans. The manager's mood at the end of this month will be more telling, however, than at present. Last week, McCoist used a key phrase despite his calm demeanour. "We've never been more needy than now," he said, in reference to the injuries to Steven Naismith and Kyle Lafferty that have blunted Rangers' title quest.
Whether the loss of one player, Naismith, should have such an adverse effect on a team is a decent point for debate but the fact is the forward's absence has coincided with a troubled spell for Rangers.
McCoist has already shouldered a fair share of criticism for Rangers' squandering of a league advantage to Celtic. Yet this month, the focus must instead be on Craig Whyte and what, if anything, the club's owner can produce to prevent the SPL trophy from moving home in May. If Rangers had a ready-made January plan, they have not exactly been swift to implement it.
A look at the level of resource available to McCoist ? in terms of talent ? highlights that "needy" reference. Bluntly, Rangers lag well behind Celtic in terms of personnel. McCoist's only saving grace is course and distance specialism, added to the strong influence of Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Nikica Jelavic. Without being disrespectful to the rest, it seems almost impossible to make the case for Rangers winning the SPL with their current squad.
McCoist's view is therefore clear: that even without the sale of Jelavic ? such a move has been widely speculated on ? Rangers are in need of new players, particularly in attack. The crucial and unanswered question is what level of recruit Whyte is willing to subsidise, particularly if Jelavic remains a Rangers player. If, as has been suggested, the Ibrox club are seeking �10m for the Croat then he is more likely than not to see out the season in Glasgow.
More intriguing is Rangers' recruitment policy. If McCoist genuinely sanctioned summer moves for Juan Manuel Ortiz, Matt McKay and Alejandro Bedoya then he has less knowledge of the type of player required to succeed in Scotland than many would credit him with. Murray Davidson, for example, is a player known to be admired by McCoist who is available relatively cheaply yet has not been coaxed from St Johnstone.
If the trio in question arrived at Rangers without McCoist being delighted about it, a deeper issue exists. The same will apply if McCoist feels short-changed at the end of this transfer window.
So far, those linked with Rangers are hardly of awe-inspiring quality. There has been a farcical arrival and brisk disappearance of two Indian trialists, added to a similarly flawed plan to fly in Honduran players, while a pre-contract offer has been made to St Johnstone's Francisco Sandaza ? a decent SPL forward and nothing more. None of the other names on McCoist's wish list suggest Rangers want to be net spenders this month.
Whyte is perfectly within his rights to seek a reduction of the Rangers wage bill. This season, a lack of European football will impact directly on their income. The key question is how much of his own funds Whyte is willing to commit instead.
Speculating to accumulate in Scottish football is hardly a costly business given the diminishing level of competition below the Old Firm. Public utterances from McCoist about his need to recruit places direct pressure on Whyte to come up with the goods in two weeks. If the owner genuinely has the best interests of Rangers at heart, presumably he will do everything possible to retain the championship.
The transfer picture, of course, is muddied by those who continue to look towards Rangers' upcoming and crucial tribunal with HM Revenue and Customs. A meeting is scheduled for next week, although no result is likely to be announced for months.
The tax case, though, is actually irrelevant for the time being. Now, as has been the scenario for more than a year, Rangers are staring down the barrel of administration if they lose that particular battle.
In the meantime, relations between McCoist and Whyte depend on transfer action, or a lack of it. A fascinating fortnight at Ibrox awaits.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/jan/14/rangers-title-transfer-window
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