Willie Henderson thinks Rangers could receive a huge wake-up call this weekend.
General View of Ibrox Stadium
Rangers legend Willie Henderson has told The Scottish Herald that he is a little concerned that the club haven’t spent enough money in the transfer market over the summer.
Mark Warburton’s side make the short trip across Glasgow to face Celtic on Saturday afternoon, with the two Old Firm rivals meeting in the league for the first time since 2012.
Rangers will have some confidence going into the game having beaten Celtic on penalties in the Scottish Cup back in April, and will be hoping to prove that they can challenge the Bhoys once again this season.
Joey Barton was one of a number of summer signings for Rangers
However, it’s a tough task for Rangers; Celtic have won five league titles in a row and boosted their squad with the likes of Dorus De Vries, Cristian Gamboa, Kolo Toure, Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele.
Celtic have managed to spend in the transfer window, backing Brendan Rodgers with funds to land winger Sinclair in a deal believed to be worth around £3m (The Guardian) – more than Rangers have spent this summer.
Warburton has been limited to free agent signings such as Matt Gilks, Lee Hodson, Philippe Senderos, Clint Hill, Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar or cut-price deals for out-of-contract youngsters like Matt Crooks, Jordan Rossiter, Josh Windass and Joe Dodoo.
The biggest deal Rangers struck was to sign striker Joe Garner from Preston, with STV reporting that the fee will reach £1.5m for the 28-year-old, though only half of that was paid up front.
Rangers did plenty of business over the summer, but club legend Willie Henderson has told The Scottish Herald that he is worried that this weekend’s game against Celtic will show that Rangers didn’t spend enough on new signings.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton
“Every Old Firm match is important but I don’t think there has ever been one that’s more important for Rangers than this one,” said Henderson. “This one will tell us whether or not Rangers have been shy with money. That might be proved this weekend.”
“Celtic have obviously been spending money on their team and they’ve also earned themselves a huge, huge bonus by qualifying for the Champions League. So unless Rangers spend some money on the team it’s going to be difficult for them to compete and they can’t now spend anything until January. I think this match at Parkhead could prove to be a wake-up call for Rangers,” he added.
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