By Russell Edge

11th May, 2018 | 3:56pm

Nicholl living in dreamland at Rangers with stunning comparison in Gerrard transfer verdict

COMMENT

After a season of disappointment at Rangers, there is much excitement over the imminent arrival of Steven Gerrard – whose first action will be sorting out the club’s transfer activity.

Officially arriving at Ibrox on June 1st, the Liverpool icon has a lot of work to do if the Light Blues have any chance of closing the gap, let alone catching, fierce rivals Celtic after another season of Hoops domination.

He will no doubt have been keeping a close eye on the club’s recent matches prior to his arrival, watching over his prospective side, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and figuring out exactly what needs to be done in the months building up to next season.

Between Graeme Murty’s exit and Gerrard’s takeover, Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson have taken charge in a caretaker capacity, but the former’s verdict on the senior side shows he is living in fantasy.

He compared the current squad to the Ibrox legends that played under Graeme Souness back in 1986, a side which won four league titles and a handful of cups under the Scot, during a period of utter domination for the Gers over Scotland.

He also suggested that instead of mass changes, Gerrard might only need to bring in three or four new arrivals over the summer, in a bid to try and hunt down Celtic.

He told STV: “When Graeme Souness came in he bought Terry Butcher, Chris Woods and there was myself and him.

“He didn’t turn around and bring in eight, nine or 10 players to change things around. That tells you there was enough in the club at that moment to turn things around adding three or four.

“If he gets more out of the group we have at the moment then he may only need three or four players.

“It would be a lot better if he only needed that many in. Players probably haven’t produced what their capable of consistently.”

To suggest that this current Rangers squad are worthy of being mentioned in the same breath of Souness’ side is stunning for all the wrong reasons, as is stating that they are just a quartet of players away from being competitive.

Surely Nicholl of all people will have realised the vast gulf in quality between Celtic and the rest of the Scottish league?

Gerrard might be an excellent motivator, but he can only do so much with the resources at hand, and only a man living in a dreamland would suggest that the current options have enough to take the fight to the Hoops.

In other Rangers news, a crucial verdict is imminent after an internal inquest into Ibrox controversy.

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