Kris Boyd has cautioned the 49ers that taking over the Rangers will not be easy.
On Monday (3 March), the enterprise arm of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise took a step closer to acquiring a controlling position in the Ibrox outfit.
According to Sky Sports, the parties have reached a deal in principle, with due diligence and legal paperwork to be completed before the partnership led by Paraag Marathe and Andrew Cavanagh takes over in the summer.
Boyd has cautioned the Rangers.
The Gers great was encouraged by the takeover update, but he is less optimistic about the idea of an immediate successive team makeover, warning that it might be a long time before they can compete with Celtic.
Speaking on The Scottish Sun’s Go Ballistic broadcast [3 March], the former Scotland striker said: “I believe Rangers fans have something to look forward to now.
“It will be all systems go for next season because there will undoubtedly be changes and Rangers must improve on the pitch.
“I believe it will be beneficial to Scottish football; Celtic have been all-conquering, and no one has been able to compete with them in terms of finances.
“I believe Rangers has some decent players, as evidenced by one-off performances, but I believe the squad as a whole is failing.
“You know they need to revamp the pitch. You would expect a large number of people to depart, but this is easier said than done.
“Who is going to take a lot of the players that are at Rangers right now, It’s not going to be easy to tidy this mess up.”
The 49ers takeover is hardly a silver bullet solution for the Rangers.
The takeover should put an end to the incessant wrangling among shareholders that has plagued the Ibrox club, but it will not cure all of Rangers’ problems overnight, whether on the pitch or in the boardroom.
It will take several years for the Govan outfit to resolve its troubles and catch up with archrivals Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
The 49ers’ first priority will be to find the ideal permanent manager to lead the Auchenhowie club forward in the long run, whether it is current interim manager Barry Ferguson, Steven Gerrard’s return, or an outsider.
Then, they must try to overhaul the recruitment system by consistently signing players like Hamza Igamane, Clinton Nsiala, and Vaclav Cerny while also weeding out the poor signings of recent years.
However, as Boyd points out, that will be a difficult task, and even if they succeed, there will be some missed opportunities, and it will take a significant amount of time to build a squad capable of competing for the highest honors and challenging their city rivals for the league championship.
Gers supporters should strap in for a long ride as their club attempts to bring back the glory days.
