Ibrox outfit Glasgow Rangers failed to complete with Old Firm rivals and Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Much was expected of Rangers in the Scottish Premiership last season following their automatic promotion from the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
Of course, it was always going to be hard for the Gers to compete with Old Firm rivals Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title last season, but they were expected to at least challenge.
Rangers were never really in the race for the league title and ended up third in the table – behind champions Celtic and second-placed Aberdeen.
The Ibrox outfit finished as many as 39 points behind Celtic, who will be expected to win the Scottish Premiership title yet again next season.
Pedro Caixinha’s Rangers have made a number of signings so far in the summer transfer window, and one of them is Bruno Alves.
Alves, who is 35 years of age and operates as a central defender, has joined Rangers on a free transfer following his departure from Italian club Cagliari at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
The Portugal international is a hugely experienced footballer, and he has commented on closing the gap on Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic.
“We need to believe we can close the gap,” Alves told The Express regarding closing the gap with Celtic. “This is a new season and you need to believe you can be better and achieve more.
“We need to think about ourselves, about Rangers and what we can do – the way we can prepare for the Premiership and so on.
“I came here to win. At almost all of the clubs I played for I won, and this is my expectation for Rangers now I am here. I hope that together we can do something good.”
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