Rangers' 2025-26 rebuild is looking like another false dawn at Ibrox

Another Summer of Empty Promises at Ibrox

If you close your eyes and listen to the murmurs coming out of Govan right now, you’d swear it was 2018 all over again. The Rangers hierarchy is preaching patience, the manager is demanding a complete cultural reset, and the fans are staring down the barrel of another season watching Celtic parade the Premiership trophy around Parkhead. Philippe Clement arrived with the aura of a pragmatist who could finally fix the structural rot at Ibrox, but heading into the 2025-26 campaign, the "rebuild" feels painfully familiar.

We have seen this movie before. Every summer, a handful of high-earning underperformers are shuffled out the back door, only to be replaced by another batch of untested projects and expensive loanees who inevitably pull a hamstring in late October. The gap to Brendan Rodgers' Celtic isn't just financial anymore; it’s operational. While Celtic operate like a modern European club—identifying talent early and moving decisively—Rangers are still shopping in the bargain bins of the Belgian First Division.

The frustrating part is that the fanbase can see exactly what needs to be done. It does not take a UEFA Pro License to recognize that a team lacking pace, creativity, and steel is going to struggle on wet Wednesday nights in Dingwall. Yet, the boardroom seems paralyzed, caught between the desire to slash the wage bill and the desperate need to field a competitive starting eleven. You cannot do both simultaneously and expect to win a league title.

The Midfield Black Hole

Let’s talk about the engine room, because that’s where titles are won and lost in Scotland. The departures of experienced heads like John Lundstram and Ryan Jack were supposed to usher in a new era of dynamism and youthful energy. Instead, the current midfield looks terrifyingly light on ball-progression. Clement wants a high-pressing, vertical system, but you can’t execute that when your double pivot takes three touches just to turn and face the opposition goal.

Rangers desperately need a genuine number six who can dictate tempo and break lines. When they dropped points at Rugby Park last season, it was entirely because Kilmarnock’s midfield overran them with sheer physicality and direct running. Derek McInnes laid out the blueprint on how to bully this Rangers team, and every provincial club in the league took notes. You cannot survive trips to Tynecastle or Pittodrie with a midfield that hides when the game turns into a brawl.

The failure to secure a robust, line-breaking midfielder in the January window was a glaring error by the recruitment team. Going into August without fixing that massive hole is borderline negligent. They need a player in the mold of a peak Steven Davis—someone who demands the ball under pressure and never wastes a pass. Without that profile, the defense is exposed, and the attackers are starved of service.

Attacking Woes and Cyriel Dessers

Then there is the persistent riddle of Cyriel Dessers. The man is an enigma wrapped in an offside flag. He’ll miss three tap-ins that my nan could finish, then pull out a stunning volley from 25 yards when everyone has already given up on the play. But a title challenger cannot rely on a striker who needs five clear-cut chances to find the net. To catch Celtic, you need a ruthless finisher who turns a drab goalless draw away at St Mirren into a 1-0 smash-and-grab victory.

Look at the underlying numbers from last season. Celtic’s wide players consistently delivered double-digit goal contributions, terrorizing fullbacks and stretching defenses. Rangers, meanwhile, are still waiting for someone on the right flank to figure out how to beat the first man with a cross. The board needs to back Clement with a proven goalscorer, not another gamble from a relegated Eredivisie side.

• A dominant, ball-playing center half to partner John Souttar.
• A creative number ten who can unlock low blocks.
• A starting-caliber right winger who actually wants to take on fullbacks.

If those three positions are not adequately filled by the end of the transfer window, Clement is essentially being asked to fight a heavily armed opponent with a butter knife.

The Rodgers Factor and Tactical Naivety

We also have to acknowledge the reality across the city. Brendan Rodgers isn't going to stand still. Love him or hate him, the man knows how to navigate the Scottish Premiership. He systematically exposed Rangers' defensive transitions in every Old Firm derby last year. Clement’s aggressive man-marking system looked completely naive when faced with Celtic’s fluid front three. Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda dragged the Rangers center-backs all over Hampden, creating massive spaces that Callum McGregor gleefully exploited.

The tactical stubbornness shown in those derbies was alarming. Clement has to take the blame for refusing to adjust his setup when it clearly wasn't working. Great managers adapt; they don't just ask their players to run harder when the tactical plan is fundamentally flawed. If Rangers try to go toe-to-toe with Celtic in an open game this season without upgrading their defensive personnel, the scorelines will be ugly.

If Rangers are going to mount a serious challenge in 2025-26, they need more than just new players; they need a new mentality. They need to stop reacting to what Celtic are doing and start dictating the terms of the title race. The constant feeling of inferiority has seeped into the dressing room, and it shows every time the pressure ramps up in April.

The Ibrox faithful are tired of "transitions" and "projects." They don't want to hear about three-year plans or wage structures. They demand a team that can actually put up a fight for 38 games without collapsing at the first sign of adversity. Unless Clement pulls off a managerial masterclass with a shoestring budget, next May is going to look exactly like the last one.