Wayne Veysey

Mon 9 April 2018 12:03, UK

By Richard Parks

Dave King has told Rangers fans how impressed he has been by Mark Allen and that he can be expected to recruit some more top players this summer.

Allen was prised from the Manchester City academy last June and appointed the club’s director of football following an extensive search.

The former City academy chief joined after Rangers had completed most of their summer-of-2017 signings but he had his feet firmly under the table by January, when six new recruits were brought in.

King has attributed the Glasgow giants’ impressive turn-of-the-year form to the impact made by the players brought in by Allen and pinned his faith on more top signings.

“We can expect further progress now that Mark Allen has settled in as director of football,” King wrote in an open letter to supporters published on the Rangers website.

“It is significant that the Club has experienced its highest level of call-ups for senior international duty for many years. This is directly attributable to the work that Mark did in the recent transfer window and provides a mood of optimism to build on for the upcoming summer window.”

Football Insider verdict:

Allen demonstrated in the January window that he is a shrewd operator. After the haphazard recruitment of last summer and previous windows, the 54-year-old demonstrated that much can be achieved with a shoestring budget if you shop in the right places. All six signings have made an impact, with Jamie Murphy and Declan John the two standouts, while Russell Martin, Greg Docherty, Sean Goss and Jason Cummings have all been key members of a squad that has been much improved in the second half of the season. King is pinning his faith in Allen once again producing the goods in the summer, and there is the sense that the team’s success or failure next season will depend upon it.