Interim manager Graeme Murty has said that Rangers will only add players to the squad this month if they significantly add to the group we already have.
With the players out in Florida and some transfer dealings already done which have seen Jamie Murphy and Sean Goss added on the playing side, along with Jimmy Nicholl on the backroom staff, Murty told the Official Site that although he knew transfer speculation would continue to be wild until the end of deadline day, the club had a plan and were focused in what we do this month.
‘Ins and outs are being discussed all the time. I had a conversation with Mark Allen this morning about certain things we have looked at. It`s about enhancing and strengthening and making sure that we move forward. There is no point bringing people in that can`t actually enhance what I want to do and make us stronger in the areas that I can really strengthen.’
He went on to explain.
‘Until the end of January there is going to be loads of speculation. I`ve had four agents calling me this morning about such and such a player and saying ‘You need to phone me back`. Actually, do you know what, we`re on top of stuff and just because you don`t see anything happening just yet don`t ever think that we`re not ready to go. We`re just making sure that we do things properly, respectful to individuals and clubs, and making sure we go about our business in a correct manner because I think that`s correct, Mark thinks that`s right, but discussions are happening at all levels, all the time.’
Having added two players already and seen them join the group out in the States, Murty went on to say they’d been warmly welcomed and the banter was flying, but he’d also been impressed with their work ethic and attitude as they look to impress from the getgo.
‘It`s been good. Jamie has had the usual stick, as soon as you have a bad touch the boys are out screaming at him ‘How much?` and ‘Are you sure it`s a loan, have you got to try before you buy?` – all the classics. But they have gone about their business quietly, they`ve integrated really well and Jimmy is an absolute revelation. He`s already in the guys` psyche and he`s already got them on board hopefully. But he`s been great just as a sounding board for me personally.’
Murty went on to say that one of Nicholl’s strengths was in the way he had made him think and look at things with fresh eyes.
‘He`s not a naysayer, he`s just got a real way of challenging your own thinking and making you look at things afresh, which is great and that`s the reason we brought him in. The people that we bring in have to add something. They have to buy in to what we do but they have to add something to our group and our collective, and if we can continue to do that we make the group stronger and the group have to respond to that. The group have to use that as fuel to improve and get better, and I think if we have that mindset, which the players have definitely shown in this camp, it bodes well for the second half of the season.’
Speaking a little bit more about Goss, he went on to say.
‘He is tall and he is rangy but he deals with the ball really well. He`s got a lovely range of pass, he`s comfortable in possession, he wants the ball all the time which is great for us, and just quietly without shouting about it I think he`s impressed the boys with the level he is at. So that`s good and we just need to get him up to speed, we just need to get him up to our intensity. Once he gets that then obviously he`ll be an asset to us.’
With friendlies now on the horizon on our trip away, he ended by saying.
‘I don`t expect us to get everything right because you don`t when you bring new people together, but as long as I see positive signs and actually different elements of what I want the game to look like then this camp will have been a success. I`m really pleased with what we have done so far, really pleased with the way the players have worked, but we now need to go and translate that into a performance which is always the way in football. If we can do that then all good.’
