2016 was quite an eventful year for Rangers. After a four-year wait, they are now back in the Premiership and doing quite well. Celtic’s form is at a whole another level and Rangers are unlikely to provide them any kind of challenge for the title this season unless the Hoops suffer an enormous dip in form, but we have to be realistic at the end of the day. Slowly but surely, Mark Warburton’s side are picking up their form and could very well challenge for the title as early as the next season.
We are just a few days away from the January transfer window where every club will get the opportunity to bolster their squad. We can expect plenty of action from Rangers too. Despite doing so well of late, picking up four straight wins to establish a 7-point gap between themselves and third-placed Aberdeen, we can expect Warburton to be a busy guy in the upcoming month.
So, what all should be in Warburton’s agenda in January? Let us take a look.
Bolster his midfield ranks
Mark Warburton prefers to deploy his side in a 4-3-3 formation as he believes that in this system, he gets the best balance and chemistry. One midfielder sits at the base of midfield and his main job is to destroy the opponents’ game and set up the foundation of the team from deep by spraying passes across the pitch. The other two midfielders play in box to box roles. In this system, Warburton gets his desired balance defence and attack in midfield.
Injuries have not been kind to Rangers at all this season, especially in the midfield department. Jordan Rossiter and Matt Crooks have found it hard to kick off their Rangers careers since their summer moves. Niko Kranjcar started his Rangers career quite well but picked up a nasty injury and will be out for the rest of the season.
Josh Windass, on the other hand, has had better fortune than his two colleagues. With the midfielders struggling to stay fit and Joey Barton’s Rangers career coming to a premature end, there is some void in the middle of the park and Warburton should try to fill it in January.
Bring a potent goalscorer
You can easily see the difference between the Celtic and Rangers looking at their forward options. Martyn Waghorn is having an injury-plagued season but still has scored 10 goals so far in all competitions. However, he has hardly been consistent in the process. Joe Garner’s confidence is seemingly low as he is failing to add goals to his game at Rangers.
Kenny Miller has had an impact in most games with his overall game but has scored just 4 goals this season. He is not getting any younger, too. Look at the duo of Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele at Celtic. They have scored a total of 31 goals between them already this season. Such a firing forward line is one of the reasons why Celtic are so ahead in the title race. Rangers should look to bring in a more regular goal-threat in the summer.
