The ubiquitous Rangers buzzword at the end of last season was, once again, 'rebuild'. Plus ca change many intoned. Both Michael Beale and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, after all, had implemented similar. This time though, a sticking plaster wasn't going to do. The manager, executives and fans were of one voice that root and branch change was required. Even captain James Tavernier looked for a while like he might be cast out on his backside, such was the force of public and private anger at the way the team capitulated from a position of strength in the Premiership race.
While such things are easy to demand, you wondered if there was ever truly the appetite for the pain that accompanies such significant surgery. While fans will point to outliers like Ange Postecoglou's freakishly successful rebuild of Celtic in 2021/22 as an example of what can be achieved in two transfer windows, that was very much the exception and not the norm.
And so it proved in a ruinous start to the campaign. First, Rangers were turfed out of the Champions League before the play-off round by a distinctly average-looking Dynamo Kyiv side who subsequently finished third bottom of the Europa League table and only managed a solitary win in eight games. Then Celtic won the first Old Firm derby with an alacrity that suggested the gap between the bitter rivals not only remained but was growing. Finally, as confidence wobbled, points started to slip away against teams you simply have to defeat to win titles. And this nightmare on the grass was further exacerbated by behind-the-scenes disasters that saw the team forced to play at early games at Hampden and the sudden departures of first the CEO James Bisgrove and then the chairman John Bennett.
Philippe Clement, has been left for large swathes of the season as both manager and primary club spokesman, unfairly thrust forward as the face of these clamities in the absence of others. The Belgian looked doomed by December but suddenly green shoots started to emerge despite the frosty night air.
The young striker Hamza Igamane, sourced from Morocco on the back of impressive underlying data, suddenly exploded to life and began scoring and lighting up games with his combination of power, trickery and deft finishing. Premier League teams are already taking notice with a fee north of £20m mooted for a player with four and a half years left on his contract.
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And while Igamane is undoubtedly a gleaming jewel, others have also started to look like good long-term purchases with significant transfer potential. £750k Brazillian full-back Jefte has defensive errors in his game but also the physical characteristics needed for the top level. Chelsea, for one, have already been scrutinising his performances.
Connor Barron, signed from Aberdeen, is a solid young Scottish talent who burned brightly while others floundered at the start of the season. His time will come again and a transfer fee of £650k plus add-ons represents excellent value. Another young player, Frenchman Clinton Nsiala was signed from AC Milan and has settled well into first-team action after injuries to the more experienced centre-halfs.
Vaclav Cerny has added goals and assists from a right wing berth that hasn't had a nailed-on regular since the days of Daniel Candeias. Twenty goal contributions in 36 appearances underlines his outstanding qualities at this level and while Rangers may struggle to afford a permanent deal, it's been a clever loan allowing other areas to be prioritised for investment.
Twenty-five-year-old Nedim Bajrami has shown he's capable of big moments with the winner in the Premier Sports semi-final against Motherwell, the opener in the final against Celtic and outstanding performances shutting down Callum McGregor in the last two derbies. The £3.5m Albainian needs to amp up his goals and assists but he's yet to receive a sustained run in his favoured no.10 position and looks to have many of the attributes to thrive when he gets one.
Probably the only signing that hasn't worked is that of experienced Dutch defender Robin Propper who by his own admission has struggled to adapt to the rugged nature of the Scottish game. And yet, even he has shown signs of improvement in recent months and has shown up well in games against strong opposition, not least Spurs and Manchester United.
The steady emergence of these players from what now looks like a solid summer of recruitment by sporting director Nils Koppen has finally given the Rangers fans some hope to cling to. While Celtic are a seemingly unstoppable force, now 13 points ahead in the league table, the Ibrox men have been far more than competitive in recent derbies. They were unfortunate not to pip Celtic in a very tight cup final ultimately decided by penalties while Clement's men were rampant at Ibrox and could have easily scored more in a 3-0 win in January. Add in excellent overall European results both home and away, it's now clear that Clement's changes have some substance. The test now is to find the consistency of performance required to put some pressure on Brendan Rodgers' title-chasing juggernaut across the city.
To do so will mean performing with more spark against some of Scottish football's lowest of low blocks, a tactic which Clement has found difficult to combat at times. When there's space to play in, Rangers showed at Old Trafford, in Nice and at Ibrox against Spurs, they have the players to cause damage to even elite sides. It's amid congestion that question marks about creative vigour remain. Clement has to find a consistent solution.
While many wondered if he was the right man for the job during the sticky periods, you can't overlook the combination of off-field chaos and on-field tumult that's made his job so much harder. He's also had terrible injury luck - although what Rangers manager in recent times hasn't?
New CEO Patrick Stewart was under immediate pressure to sack Clement from the minute he walked through the door but his steadfast approach has been the correct one. A proper assessment of the season can only be made when it's looked at in its entirety and besides, history tells us that changing a coach halfway through simply doesn't work. The cycle had to be broken.
It would be naive not to say Clement's future is still up in the air. Of course it is. No Rangers manager can finish in Celtic's slipstream and not face questions. The remaining league games, Scottish Cup and Europa League will provide the body of evidence Stewart will use to decide if there needs to be a change of direction at the top. He will be looking for tangible improvement and a strong sense of momentum to carry into next season.
For Rangers, there is still much to play for. Regardless of how it pans out for the manager, this finally looks like a rebuild constructed on decent foundations.
