Michael Mols: Rangers should be shooting for top six, not first place

[ian1964 10,474]

RANGERS icon Michael Mols watched on in delight back on April 17, a Sunday of unbridled celebration for all connected with the Ibrox club.

 

This was the day that four years of pain accumulated through a slog around the lower reaches of Scottish football, being poked and prodded by their nearest rivals as they, despite their obvious flaws, cruise to consecutive titles, was finally expelled in dramatic fashion.

 

The William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic on penalties gave hope to the 21,500 Rangers supporters who were in Hampden to witness Tom Rogic's decisive kick fly over Wes Foderingham's cross bar. But it was also much more than that.

 

The victory, earned after a 2-2 stalemate, was seen as the beginning of a new chapter in what has been a tale of woe over the last few year years and a bright beacon that the balance of Glasgow power had shifted back towards Govan.

 

While Mols obviously shared in the joy of the result with the rest of the Rangers family that he came to know so well during a five-year spell from 1999-2004, his celebrations were tempered by his firm belief that the gulf between the two sides still exists.

 

Speaking to SportTimes, the 45-year-old urged supporters not to get carried away by the victory, insisting Mark Warburton's team should be shooting to finish in the top six in the Ladbrokes Premiership next term rather than attempt to challenge Celtic for the title.

 

“No, I think there is still a big gap between Rangers and Celtic,” he told SportTimes.

 

“Of course the Old Firm win was good against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, but it was a difficult game.

 

“I think they need to step up a little bit more to compete with Celtic again. I think there is still a big difference.

 

“Maybe Celtic didn’t play really good at the semi-final. But we shouldn’t get over-excited by that result, there is still a long way to go.”

 

How far there is still to go still remains to be seen and is dependent on various factors. It is widely thought and anticipated that the Premiership will be even more competitive next year with Aberdeen and Hearts both seeking to improve their lot. There is also the small matter of Brendan Rodgers becoming the new Celtic manager to mix things up even more.

 

On top of that, with many leaving Ibrox in the wake of their Championship-winning campaign including Nicky Law, David Templeton, Nicky Clark, Dominic Ball, Billy King and Gedion Zelalem, recruitment will be an important process ahead of a landmark campaign.

 

Mols agrees with all of the above, and, to that end, is modest in his own expectations of where he believes Rangers could be shooting next season.

 

“It depends on what new signings they make and what players they can bring in,” said the former Dutch international, who scored 48 goals during his five-year spell at Ibrox.

 

“It is important to bring in the right types of players.

 

“For me, it is difficult to judge what the standard will be of the Premiership next season. It’s hard as I have been watching Rangers in the Championship.

 

“If Rangers have a good season, then they could finish somewhere from first to sixth place for me. That’s what I believe.”

 

There have already been signs of encouragement to Mols, mostly in the form of former England midfielder Joey Barton who left Burnley last month to sign with Rangers on a two-year deal.

 

The signing of the 33-year-old was viewed as a coup for Warburton & Co. given Barton turned down the opportunity to play in the Barclays Premier League with the Turf Moor club to pursue silverware in Scotland.

 

This acquisition is one of the major reasons for optimism among the Rangers support, with the club yesterday urging fans to join a season ticket waiting list after 33,000 holders renewed. As well as being able to get backsides on seats, Mols believes Barton can add some physicality to the Rangers midfield and strengthen the spine of the team going into a landmark campaign.

 

“I think Joey Barton is a good signing because it puts somebody in midfield with strength. Sometimes Rangers have lacked that kind of player,” reflected the former Utrecht forward.

 

“He has done well in England and will be a real quality player for Rangers next season. There’s no doubt about that.

 

“Barton has great movement, but you need physicality in midfield too. That’s important too. The club have done really well to bring a player like him up to Scotland.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/14539768.Michael_Mols__Rangers_should_be_shooting_for_top_six__not_first_place/

[boabie 230]

I posted here a week or so ago that top six would satisfy me. Nobody is going to throw tens of millions at Rangers while the criminal case, to say nothing of all the civil cases surround our club.

We the fans will allow the team to compete next season. The following one is where our expectations should be focussed.

[Waltersgotstyle 297]

I posted here a week or so ago that top six would satisfy me. Nobody is going to throw tens of millions at Rangers while the criminal case, to say nothing of all the civil cases surround our club.

We the fans will allow the team to compete next season. The following one is where our expectations should be focussed.

 

Second biggest budget in Scotland - top six my arse.

[barca72 440]

Top 3 this upcoming season, 55 the next season.

[pete 2,499]

Top 3 this upcoming season, 55 the next season.

 

55 this coming season but only if we get a defence.

[JFK-1 1,684]

Back when the title was clinched and promotion guaranteed I would have been content with a top 6 finish for the first season back but given the quality of player being targeted and brought in recently the stakes have been raised and top 3 to clinch a Euro spot is now a minimum expectation and that is in fact what Dave King himself stated when he took over. He said that the Europa league was a minimum expectation.

 

Aberdeen were second best in the SPL last season by a distance and there is no way they are going to be attracting the quality we are which presumably is one reason the bookies have Rangers at 3/1 for the title with Aberdeen 12/1

 

And though I may be looking at it with slightly blue tinted spectacles so to speak I don't think it's beyond us to win this league. I hope to hit the ground running like we did last year and again I don't think that's beyond the team. The shake up of the midfield has thrown a lot more creativity in there which i'm hoping can help break down those ten man defences we have to face to take advantage of all the possession in the final third we habitually have against any team we played last year.

 

Even against St Johnstone when we experienced the first stumbling block of the season we still had 66% of the possession and 12 shots at goal to their 6 and I don't see that changing much in the SPL but I do expect this team to be taking more advantage of that superiority. Dundee were totally blown away and in the first half of the cup semi final we were all over them with a weakened side. Nothing is beyond this team with Warburton at the helm and I fully expect we're going to see some even more fabulous football than we did last season.

 

Tighten it up at the back and I see only one out there who can stand in our way and it's not Aberdeen. As for Aberdeen I have seen them making spurious claims that Rangers will have to spend mega millions to compete even for the top 3 in the league. What a load of utter bollocks. They themselves claimed to be legitimate title challengers and when did they ever spend ANY millions far less mega?

[jhunter 0]

This is the season to win it

 

We failed to make Europe so there is no distraction there as there will be in coming seasons.

 

That said as of right now the squad is nowhere near good enough to do it.

[Tannochsidebear 2,322]

Dont be daft, its a two horse race as always. If we sort out our defence and bring in a quality striker, it should be ours to lose. The squad across the road needs huge change with so many players not good enough and taking up big wages, that will take them more than a year to sort out.

 

Our problems to improve are much easier to solve than theirs. I wont be calling for Warbs head if we come second, but third with our budget and players is not an option.

 

Our wage budget will probably exceed the other 10 clubs put together. We have the best manager in the league who has had a year to bed in and see what it takes. We have the best training facility, sports science and medical staff in the country. We have been planning for this season for a whole year. In what universe should we expect to come behind Aberdeen or Hearts when you look at their players, managers, facilities, budget?

[Frankie 8,187]

I think we should be making a title challenge.

 

Celtic have the advantage but if we make the right signings we should be capable of causing them problems - particularly if they have European football to worry about earlier in the season.

[Rousseau 9,581]

Dont be daft, its a two horse race as always. If we sort out our defence and bring in a quality striker, it should be ours to lose. The squad across the road needs huge change with so many players not good enough and taking up big wages, that will take them more than a year to sort out.

 

Our problems to improve are much easier to solve than theirs. I wont be calling for Warbs head if we come second, but third with our budget and players is not an option.

 

Our wage budget will probably exceed the other 10 clubs put together. We have the best manager in the league who has had a year to bed in and see what it takes. We have the best training facility, sports science and medical staff in the country. We have been planning for this season for a whole year. In what universe should we expect to come behind Aberdeen or Hearts when you look at their players, managers, facilities, budget?

 

You're not wrong with regards to resources, but I really think this expectation that we'll be competing with Celtic, or finishing 2nd, is misplaced. I'd be extremely disappointed with "top 6"; I don't think that's acceptable. To be saying, or implying, Warburton should be sacked for finishing 3rd is unnecessary. I appreciate the expectation at Rangers, but we can all agree Warburton is doing positive things, laying down a foundation for the future of the club. Just because he maybe 'fails' -- whatever that may be -- doesn't mean we should be ripping up the philosophy/system and starting again. I think that outlook is the same that has caused us to fall so far behind European clubs -- in a purely football sense.

 

I'd be content with competing with Hearts and Aberdeen next season (based on their placement last season). It's a new situation for the squad, and although it's not something we're used to or will accept for too long, it is acceptable next season, IMO.