Barry Ferguson believes Derek McInnes faces a massive test of man management at Rangers after one of the biggest squad overhauls in decades, but insists the manager knows one certainty: Lawrence Shankland must lead the attack.
Writing in his latest column, the former Ibrox captain compared the rebuild to his own early days under Dick Advocaat, noting that McInnes has ripped up an entire squad and built a new one from scratch in a few short weeks. That, Ferguson said, is not an easy job for any manager, never mind the man in charge at Ibrox.
Getting to know a new dressing room
Ferguson said McInnes will need to get to know the various characters inside his dressing room, become familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, and understand what makes them tick as individuals before seeing how they link up on the pitch. He will want to observe how they interact and assess what each can bring to the group on and off the pitch, and only then will he get a strong idea of his best starting XI.
Because this is Rangers, the manager has to find a way of continuing to win games while all the pieces fall into place. Ferguson said McInnes knows the importance of getting results regardless of whether the team is a work in progress.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a massive test of man management but Derek is experienced enough to know what is required and also very aware that the demands of the fans will always remain sky high. As they should,” Ferguson wrote.
Shankland the constant
Among the early season chaos, Ferguson said the one certainty is that McInnes stands the best chance of getting the results he needs with Lawrence Shankland leading the attack. The new captain has scored three goals in two games after back-to-back away wins at Pittodrie and Falkirk, which have helped take some of the pressure off following a difficult start to the season.
In both games, Shankland was deployed in his best position as the focal point for the team, and Ferguson expects that to remain constant over the weeks ahead. His match-winning double on Wednesday night showed why he should have been a Rangers player some time ago.
“Shankland is a game changer. He’s a striker who can be relied upon to produce the moments that matter and, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the most natural finisher in the country,” Ferguson said.
His first goal against Falkirk was a trademark Shankland strike, as he drifted into a pocket of space on the edge of the box, took a touch to adjust his feet and finished. He should have scored a second shortly after half time, but Ferguson said the great thing about Lawrence is he never allows his head to go down, even when he misses a big opportunity.
Ice in his veins
When the opportunity presented itself towards the end of the game, Ferguson had no doubt Shankland would find the back of the net. In the same situation, plenty of strikers would have lashed at the ball after being superbly picked out by Ross McCrorie’s pass, but Shankland opened up his body and guided it into the bottom corner without looking at the goal.
“You can’t teach that,” Ferguson wrote. “Yes, you can work hard to improve your game and Lawrence has certainly put in the graft to make himself a better all round player over the years. Put it this way, he has absolutely earned his move to Rangers and the chance to represent the club he has always supported.”
Ferguson said he was delighted for Shankland because he knows how much it means to him. He is not just representing the shirt, he is also wearing the armband, which brings an added weight of responsibility, and he has waited a long time for it.
Kelsy must wait or adapt
Ferguson said Shankland is starting to show why McInnes has so much faith in him and must remain the team’s focal point, regardless of other changes. Rangers have spent around £9m on new No.9 Kevin Kelsy, an exciting prospect and a big, powerful front man, but he will either need to be patient or find a way of playing around Shankland for the time being.
“Rangers look at their most dangerous when the captain is the main man,” Ferguson said. “Even when he drops a little deeper to link the play, as soon as he’s popped the ball off just watch his next move - it’s almost always a bursting run to get into the box where he knows he’ll get a chance.”
Kelsy might turn out over time to be a terrific buy, but right now, with so many changes going on, Lawrence Shankland is absolutely priceless.
Ferguson said McInnes would have been delighted at 5pm on Thursday night when the transfer window came to an end. A lot of work has gone on and now the hard work starts in terms of putting it all together on the pitch. We will be in a better position to judge in three or four weeks how effective the rebuild has been, but there seem to be plenty of reasons to be reasonably excited.
A lot of new attacking options have been added, and Minsu Kim in particular has made a strong first impression. It is now a matter of getting these players onto the training pitch and gelling them into a team. For now, the whole thing will remain a work in progress, but so long as the new injection of pace and energy provides pockets of space and opportunities for Shankland, Rangers stand a very decent chance of piling up the wins along the way.
