Dave King: This is how many signings Rangers plan to make in the summer
By Alex Stevens
Rangers plan to buy five to six new players in the summer transfer window, according to Dave King.
The Ibrox chairman released a detailed statement on Saturday afternoon to update supporters on the club’s plans to close the gap on Celtic following Mark Warburton’s resignation.
King explained on Rangers’ official website that the board will fund a fresh recruitment drive in the next window despite buying far more players than they initially intended last summer.
The South Africa-based businessman revealed the board had only wanted to buy a maximum of six players but were persuaded to extend that number to the eventual eleven by the pleas of manager Mark Warburton in order to meet their target of a second-placed league finish and European qualification.
King claimed Rangers had been let down by the recruitment of Warburton, his number two David Weir and head of recruitment Frank McParland, with so many of the 2016 signings failing to fire.
But the Ibrox chairman explained that the board will not shirk their responsibilities or deviate from the three-season plan put in place at the time of their takeover in 2015.
“In season three (2017-18) we would again invest in five or six players that further improved the squad to compete for the title and progress in Europe,” King said in the statement.
“It is clear that we are behind our target for next season but, given that we recognise this, it is the duty of the board to take steps to get things back on track. That is what our supporters trust us to do and rightly demand that we do.
“We remain 100 per cent committed to the plan we commenced with and that the supporters continue to endorse resoundingly.”
King gave the board’s version of events in great detail following the remarkable events of a week that ended with the removal of the three-man management team.
Rangers announced on Friday night that Warburton’s tenure had come to an end after his resignation had been accepted by the club’s board.
Warburton leaves Rangers with the club third in the Scottish Premiership but a distant 27 points adrift of runaway leaders and bitter rivals Celtic.
In other Rangers transfer news, this is the huge sum lost by Mark Warburton after his behind-the-scenes manoeuvrings horribly backfired.
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