da bet7： Even the most optimistic of Rangers fan would tell you that their promotion to the Scottish Premiership this season didn’t exactly go to plan. Finishing third behind both Celtic and Aberdeen, it was a far cry from the optimism and swagger that the club and the fans had last summer after winning the Scottish Championship. Reality hit hard and it meant expectations were not met.
da aposte e ganhe： It won’t get much easier this week after seeing Celtic and Aberdeen go head to head for honours in Scotland’s showpiece Scottish Cup Final and their arch enemies come out on top.
However it’s not all doom and gloom and the Light Blues’ support can in fact look ahead with a bit of optimism for the season ahead after the summer break.
Pedro Caixinha is firmly in place as the man to take them forward after Mark Warburton’s departure and it’s a project that fans must get behind if its to be successful.
Here are FOUR reasons why Gers fans should be relishing the return to action…
European football
Rangers haven’t played European football since 2011 when they unceremoniously exited Europe in the summer of that season. It was before all the financial hardship, the legal battles, the journey from League 2 to the top-flight – simpler times indeed.
The Rangers support of course relish European action. They were the last Scottish side to reach the final of a European competition back in 2008 and Ibrox is sure to be back for big nights ahead this summer as they attempt to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Europa League.
In truth expectations are probably low. They’ll be unseeded for the ties and they could come up against some handy opposition in the middle of a summer primarily focused on rebuilding rather than asserting themselves on the continent.
Still, it’ll be a welcome change of pace for Rangers supporters and one which is sure to capture the imagination.
New season, new signings!
Perhaps the biggest thing to look forward to this summer and into the early part of the new season is Pedro Caixinha asserting himself on the Rangers squad and improving on team that has underachieved massively this season.
Caixinha has had to work with the players that were already here of course and fans everywhere are eager to see what his Rangers team will actually look like.
Will he recruit local talent? Will he use his contacts in Mexico and the Middle East? Will he bring in some gems from his homeland Portugal?
Whatever happens, even if the players turn out poor, that initial sense of optimism about new signings is a fantastic part of being a football fan and we’ve no doubt Rangers fans will be glued to newspapers and websites all summer long looking for the latest piece of transfer gossip.
Bye, bye deadwood
Another key task for Pedro Caixinha this summer is shifting out some of the deadwood that Rangers fans have grown very tired of over the last 12 months. Rob Kiernan, Philippe Senderos, Josh Windass, the list of stars that likely have no place at Ibrox is a long one.
In truth, with hindsight, most Rangers fans will tell you that this season in the Scottish Premiership was one of transition and the step up from the Championship and lower league football was likely to be too great for a lot of squad players at the club.
Freeing up resources and even potentially bringing in transfer fees will be welcomed massively by fans and as mentioned previously, they’ll be hoping its put to good use by Pedro Caixinha.
A fresh canvas
This season has had plenty of issues but now it’s time to say goodbye to them and compartmentalise them into their own box away from whatever happens in the future at Ibrox. The new season is a fresh start, a chance for the club to show that they aren’t in as bad a position as everyone seems to think they are.
It’s been something of a snowball effect this season as one crisis has rolled into another, from Joey Barton to the departure of Mark Warburton to the derby defeats under Pedro Caixinha, it’s all felt linked somehow.
Starting anew can only be a benefit and surely next season cannot be as poor as this one. For that reason alone the return to action can only be something that fans look forward to.