King’s Rangers return unlikely as club hunt for new chair & CEO

John Bennett stepped down as Rangers chairman “with immediate effect due to health reasons”; Dave King was keen on a return to Ibrox as chairman but that is unlikely; ex-director John Gilligan open to staying in temporary charge until new chair and CEO appointed

There have been no conversations between Rangers and former chairman Dave King over a return to the club, Sky Sports News understands.

John Gilligan, who helped King take control of Rangers in 2015 alongside Paul Murray, is in temporary charge after John Bennett stepped down as chair due to health reasons.

He is believed to be open to remaining in that role for as long as necessary, while he leads the search for a permanent successor to Bennett.

John Bennett is set to step down as Rangers chairman and bring an end to his tenure at the head of the Ibrox board.

“I have my thoughts,” Lovenkrands tells Clement on the priorities for the Rangers.

Defeat is never an option for Rangers, but Philippe Clement will be under even more pressure if his team comes back from Tannadice without three points. 

Dundee United have yet to lose a game since bouncing back from relegation to the Championship and the manager should have his squad prepared for a tough afternoon on Sunday.

Former player Peter Lovenkrands suffered the highs and lows of being a Rangers striker and reckons that there should be one target as domestic action kicks off again.

Peter Lovenkrands details one Rangers need for Tannadice trip

Speaking to STV, the great Dane urged his old team to just go out and get the job done, whatever it takes:

“The players will be itching to get back out there and bounce back (from the defeat to Celtic).

“The main thing will be to just go out there and get a result and hopefully get themselves back on track.

“There will be a lot of things (that need changed) but it’s not for me to stand here and say what the coach has to do, that wouldn’t be fair. I’ve got my opinions but I’ll keep them to myself.

“It’s about bouncing back, the best way to get the fans back on side is to get results and get back to winning ways, so three points in the next game is all that matters.

“The fans will be there, like they always are, they will always come in their numbers so it’s just all about bouncing back and getting the win and getting back on track.”

Lovenkrands is right as pressure builds on Rangers

Lovenkrands was on co-commentary duty for the Old Firm for Rangers TV and was well spoken and insightful throughout.

The 44-year old was highlighting issues with Cyriel Dessers pressing as well as the gap between the defence and midfield when Rangers had possession.

Currently without a club, John Bennett could do a lot worse than bringing such an experienced figure back to Auchenhowie to lend a hand.

Playing for Rangers isn’t always about systems, formations and styles of play.

Lovenkrands is right, sometimes it’s just about winning.

There have been no serious injuries reported following the international break and Clement will have looked at the derby and seen who he can trust when the chips are down.

Jim White is shocked by what Martin O’Neill stated about the Rangers following their defeat by the Celtics. “Absolutely.”

Jim White was taken aback by Martin O’Neill’s claim that the current Rangers side is the worse he has ever seen after their defeat to Celtic.

The talkSPORT host was shocked live on air (5 September) as the former Hoops boss responded to Graeme Souness’ claims earlier in the week that the gap between the two Old Firm rivals wasn’t great despite a 3-0 Gers loss at Parkhead.

O’Neill laughed off that suggestion as “deluding himself”, suggesting it might be 15 years before the balance is redressed, and was then scathing in his assessment of Philippe Clement’s side.

O’Neill said: “He’s deluding himself, absolutely, because there is a gap, there’s a chasm… actually that game wasn’t close at all. Celtic were far, far better…

“The demise of Rangers… it’s been terrible, it’s really been terrible. And it doesn’t do Celtic any favours I don’t think because for Celtic to be really strong and trying to compete in European football… then Rangers have got to be strong.

“And Rangers, they’re not, they’re very, very poor. The side is, I would think, it’s as poor a Rangers side as I would have known in my time in football”.

A surprised White replied: “In your time in football? This is the poorest Rangers side?”

“Yeah, really really poor,” O’Neill confirmed. “Honestly, they’re really, really poor”.

Philippe Clement Rangers side beaten heavily at Celtic

The matter-of-fact way that 72-year-old O’Neill wrote off this Light Blues side as the worst he’s ever known caught White unawares and might have been the most damning part of his whole assessment.

It was the sort of sweeping claim that might be made when someone is worked up and trying to win an argument, but it is seemingly reached the point where it is such an easy claim to make that he could barely be bothered to contest Souness’ argument directly.

It is easy to go overboard during an international break when there is no club football to distract from the previous game so the timing of a heavy Old Firm defeat could hardly be worse from that perspective, but the atmosphere has taken a huge negative turn.

Fans were hardly feeling confident as it was after a dismal preseason, a frustrating transfer window, and a struggle to start the campaign.

But any hope injected by some late moves in the transfer market before the deadline, or a 6-0 win over Ross County a week earlier, was categorically blown away by another derby defeat in worrying fashion.

On paper it might not be a massive shock to have drawn away to Hearts, lost at Parkhead, and failed to qualify for the Champions League with a squad that couldn’t be properly overhauled due to the finances.

But that manner in which recent weeks have played out have added to the results, and it is going to take an immediate upturn in form and a run of wins after the internationals to restore any positivity.

On paper it might not be a massive shock to have drawn away to Hearts, lost at Parkhead, and failed to qualify for the Champions League with a squad that couldn’t be properly overhauled due to the finances.

Rangers held transfer talks for “brilliant” player who will be out of contract in nine months.

Rangers are said to have held talks with a “brilliant” £3m player over a move to Ibrox, according to a new update.

Pressure on Rangers after derby defeat

The Gers had an exciting summer window overall, signing many players to make Philippe Clement‘s squad stronger, with the likes of Jefte, Connor Barron, Mohamed Diomande and Robin Propper all coming in, as well as a number of other new faces.

While there was plenty of positivity going into the new Scottish Premiership season, Rangers have suffered a reality check of late, not least when they faced Celtic on Sunday afternoon. Clement’s men were soundly beaten 3-0 away to their biggest rivals, once again highlighting the gap in quality between the two sides.

The loss means that the Gers are already five points behind the Hoops after only four matches, which is a big concern, and significant improvements will need to be made after the international break as the new signings continue to adjust to playing alongside one another.

It looks as though Rangers’ transfer business is done for this year – some countries’ transfer windows are still open, so a low profile exit or two can’t be completely ruled out – but a new update has now dropped regarding a potential move for one player before on day last week.

Rangers held talks to sign “brilliant” ace

According to a new report from HITC, Rangers held talks with Hearts over the signing of star man Lawrence Shankland last Friday, but their asking price proved to be too high. The Gers were willing to pay £3m for the 29-year-old’s services, but his current club demanded more than that, wanting to get as much as possible for their most prized asset.

He will be out of contract in just nine months’ time, perhaps why the Gers opted to walk away and save their bank balance, considering they may be able to lure him to Ibrox for free at that point.

While Clement has missed out on Shankland for the time being, there should still be hope that Rangers can get their man in the relatively near future. Assuming he fails to sign an extension at Tynecastle, his boyhood connection to Ibrox will put them front of the queue.

The Scotland international could be a fantastic signing, even though he would be turning 30 by that point, with Neil McCann heaping praise on him: “Superlatives are becoming harder to come by when talking about Lawrence.

“His goal last week was his 30th for the season including his Scotland goal but it wasn’t the cleanest strike, tonight was just a typically brilliant goal from Lawrence Shankland. It shows you what type of striker he is, he’s so instinctive, he scores right, left, headers, instinctive goal-scorers’ goals, brilliant goals – there’s so much to speak about that is good about Lawrence Shankland.”

The fact that Shankland is a boyhood club Rangers supporter can only be an added bonus in the Gers’ quest to snap him up, and he could be such a potent addition to the attack after topping the Scottish Premiership scoring charts with 24 goals last season – six more than anyone else.

Brendan Rodgers reacts to Celtic display vs Hibs as pre-match instruction deliver

Celtic defeated Hibernian 3-1 at home on Sunday to extend their winning run at the beginning of the 2024–25 campaign.

As today’s centre forward, Daizen Maeda was brought in to replace the injured Kyogo Furuhashi, and he did not let anyone down with a first-half double that sent the Bhoys into the League Cup.

Shortly after the half, winger Nicolas Kuhn joined in to make sure there was no drama in the last moments.

Being a Celtics fan right now is a lot of fun. A sizable contingent showed up to support the team today, and they were pleased with what they saw

Naturally delighted, manager Brendan Rodgers shared his thoughts with BBC Radio Scotland after the game.

Commenting on Celtic’s victory over Hibs, Brendan Rodgers
The Bhoys’ manager remarked, “I felt we were very good.” We showed our hunger right away, which I thought made us great from the beginning of the game. We had stated prior to the game that our counter-pressing would be our playmaker, and it was. So many second and third balls were going to us.

The only true threat to us came from throw-ins. Guys that can toss it in, apply a little pressure, and get you to tense up are stationed on either side of the pitch. We handled that quite nicely. We did not reveal too much. Their header was excellent.

“The entire pace, velocity, and quality of the attacking phases of the game was outstanding.”

For the next two weeks, St Mirren and Rangers are now the teams to watch. Although it will undoubtedly be a trying and demanding time, every Celtics supporter is rooting for the squad to pass those trials with flying colours.

There is still more work to be done both on and off the pitch to satisfy fans, as the transfer window is drawing to a close.

In addition, there’s the minor issue of the Champions League draw on August 29 to anticipate.