Rangers should finish second, but there’s no guarantee
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The 2016/17 Scottish Premiership season is shaping up to be a really entertaining affair. Hearts are back to their best after the struggles they underwent in 2014, while Rangers have returned from the brink to regain their place as Scotland’s second biggest club.
For the first time in what has been a poor few years, there is a battle to be won at the top of the table. Of course, the dominance of Celtic has yet to be broken, with the club steamrolling their way to a sixth consecutive league title. However, football fans have now turned their attention to second place, which Hearts, Rangers and Aberdeen are all still in the running for.
On paper, out of those three squads, you would back Rangers to steal second place. However, things haven’t quite gone to plan for the club in the final third of the pitch this season. Joe Dodoo bagged a brace in the 2-1 victory over Partick Thistle two weeks ago, which sounds like an impressive feat. However, they were his first goals of the season so far.
All in all, they are currently the fifth best attacking outfit in the league with 19 goals, which places them behind Celtic, Hearts, Aberdeen and Inverness. If they are to clinch second, they will need to begin putting the ball in the back of the net at a more consistent rate.
It isn’t only in attack where the club have struggled this season. They have done well against some of the smaller sides, yet they continue to fall short in the big games. Following an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Celtic back in September, they have since lost to Aberdeen and Hearts, which has allowed both clubs to keep up with them at the top of the table. In the run of things, these games are worth six points to the winner and another defeat to Aberdeen this weekend would be another huge blow to Rangers’ hopes of success this season.
Luckily for Mark Warburton, he is likely to be given the resources to strengthen over the January transfer window. The club have a bigger budget than Hearts and Aberdeen combined and, following a £2 million outlay over the summer, the club are likely to set aside further funds to bring in yet more new faces during the winter window, which they hope will be enough to pull away from their rivals.
Of course, money isn’t everything in football. An ongoing dispute between club shareholders Dave King and Mike Ashley is set to enter the courtroom in the coming months, which is bound to have some effect on the club. Warburton can only hope that the media circus that will surely follow won’t distract his players from the task at hand.
Given Rangers’ glorious past, it is often forgotten that this the club’s first season back in the top flight following their automatic relegation to the fourth tier of the Scottish Football League back in 2012. It was always going to be tough for many of these players, many of which aren’t used to playing in this league or at this level yet. Despite their lack of experience, they should have enough quality to finish second. Yet, nothing is guaranteed in football.
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