Rangers legend Willie Henderson has called on chairman Dave King to splash the cash or find another investor.
General view outside Ibrox
Ibrox hero Willie Henderson has told the Glasgow Evening Times that Rangers must spend £50million in order to close the gap to Celtic – and named just four players he would keep.
The Gers took on Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-finals on Sunday afternoon, and went in with some hope having avoided defeat in Pedro Caixinha’s first five games as manager.
However, Celtic’s dominance was clear once again, as Callum McGregor and Scott Sinclair found the net in a 2-0 win for the Bhoys, taking them one step closer to a remarkable treble.
Brendan Rodgers’ men have already won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup without losing a game, and they are close to an unbeaten treble after reaching the Scottish Cup final.
Meanwhile, Rangers are left reeling after a fourth defeat in five games against Celtic this season. Many had hoped that the Gers would be challenging Celtic this term, but they lie third in the Scottish Premiership, a whopping 33 points behind their Old Firm rivals.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
New manager Caixinha is now faced with a tough task as he looks to restore Rangers to their form glories, but chairman Dave King must recognise that he needs to invest heavily in a playing squad that is considerably short of Celtic.
Now, former Rangers hero Willie Henderson has told the Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks the Gers need to spent big to catch Celtic, suggesting that £50million must be spent solely on players in order to close the gap.
Henderson added that there are just four players he would keep at Ibrox; goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, captain Lee Wallace, Bournemouth loanee Emerson Hyndman and veteran attacker Kenny Miller, hinting that the rest of the squad are replaceable.
Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham
“If Rangers are going to compete with Celtic, there has to be a huge investment in this club to purchase players who are going to be of a standard who can play for Glasgow Rangers and compete with Celtic,” said Henderson. “£50million, solely for players. It might be an idea for another investor, if there is another investor who could be brought into the club who is interested in putting money into football. It is certainly needed.”
“There are a lot of players at Ibrox who, for a considerable time, have had a chance to prove themselves to be of that class and I am afraid some of them are not that good. Kenny Miller has had a really good season. He would be the first to admit that he is getting on but with his experience I would keep him on. I would keep the goalkeeper (Wes Foderingham), Lee Wallace and the lad (Emerson) Hyndman. These are good players. But you would certainly need to add to the squad,” he added.
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