Rangers

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer in Athens

Image source, SNS

John Souttar dreams of emulating his younger brother, Harry, who played for Australia at the last World Cup in Qatar, by reaching next year's finals.

"It's the pinnacle for everyone," the Rangers centre-half said on the eve of Scotland's seismic World Cup qualifier against Greece in Piraeus on Saturday night.

"We've got a long way to get there, but watching that [his brother in Qatar] a few years ago was amazing.

"My family was over there and it was a proud moment watching him play in that and also how well he done over there. I never made it over myself, but my whole family was there.

"It's probably the pinnacle for all footballer. What they dream of doing is going to the World Cup."

Souttar is on an injury-free run but has experienced horrendous injuries in his career and has lost seasons because of them.

"If you look through any footballer in the squad, they've all got their own individual stories, but all of our motivation is on getting the country to the World Cup and every one of us will be doing everything we can to do that," he said.

"Everyone's excited, everyone's looking forward to it and we've had a good week away, everyone together [in a warm weather camp in Turkey]. We got a lot of work done and everyone's ready to go.

"If we bring the best version of ourselves, we're more than capable of getting a result here. I'm sure that everyone's going to be high to get this result."

Souttar is too young to remember the last time Scotland played at a World Cup - he was only a child - but he has heard the stories and needs no telling about how special it would be if Scotland made it.

"My family went," he revealed. "My older brother and my dad, they went to the World Cup in France. My uncle as well.

"It was always a big thing for my family and there's always pictures and stories about people being there. Everyone knows how big a deal it is."

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Nacho Novo believes Danny Rohl "knows what it's all about" at Rangers and has already succeeded where Russell Martin failed by establishing a strong connection with the support.

Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Rohl has won all three league games and suffered three defeats - two in the Europa League, one in the League Cup semis - since replacing Martin.

"He's very good," former striker Novo said before playing for Rangers in the Scottish Masters - live on BBC Scotland tonight.

"At least he's getting them to win games, whereas before they would win and then lose or draw," the Spaniard added.

"He's got a good connection with the fans, I think he knows what it's all about. We need to support him and hope he's doing well.

"Rangers fans are the best in the world but they need to get something back from the players and the manager and the club.

"He's going to need his own players as well, I wish him every success but it's too early [to assess his impact]. He's jut arrived, won a few games, but let's see if he can get that consistency in the team."

Novo was recently appointed manager of West of Scotland Football League side Darvel. And the 46-year-old is excited about his first managerial job.

"I'm really enjoying it," he said.

"Darvel are a good family club, a great community. I've got the support from them so now it's time to work and hopefully we win our first game this Saturday.

"In Scotland I've never had the chance [to manage], I just want to do well and I'm very enthusiastic. Hopefully I'm going to do well with Darvel."

We asked you to tell us the one thing you would change at Rangers.

Here's what some of you said:

Elaine: I wish we had gone for Danny Rohl before Russell Martin. I believe we wouldn't have been in such a mess with Danny as manager. Looking forward, let all our loan signings (with the exception of Mikey Moore) go back to their parent clubs and get rid of Kevin Thelwell. He's been a disaster.

Chris: Should never have sold Cyriel Dessers. He did miss some sitters but he always managed to get into goalscoring positions. We may well have got a few bob for him but we added more to it and wasted it on Youssef Chermiti who seldom gets into good positions and when he does he misses.

Jim: For me, it would be going back and finding new investors. That way we'd have no 49ers, Martin, Thelwell, Patrick Stewart or the worst team I can remember in 60 years of supporting.

Allan: Quite simply, the expectations of the fans. Patience is required to build a team. Any change takes time to evolve. Rangers have had changes right across the club, from the boardroom to the coaching staff, to the players. The fans expect instant results, which is not really feasible. We have released too many managers over the past few years, let's give this one a real chance.

Jim: I wouldn't change anything right now. Rangers need to be settled on and off the park in order to achieve anything. Thelwell and Stewart haven't had the greatest of starts to their tenure but I'm not convinced anyone else (that would want to be at Rangers) would have done better in the same situation.

The Doc: Everything to do with Thelwell.

Brian: I would choose a different captain, we need a stronger man to wear the armband. James Tavernier has been captain too long. I feel that he blames too many of his team-mates for his mistakes.

Top Serie A clubs have joined Rangers, Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign 19-year-old Nigerian midfielder Sani Suleiman, who currently plays for Slovakian club Trencin. (Rudy Galetti on Substack), external

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Rangers contacted his agent about their head coach role, but he did not get round to speaking to the Ibrox club before the appointment of Danny Rohl. (Stick To Football podcast), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

Following a summer of heavily criticised recruitment, Djeidi Gassama has emerged one of the only bright sparks for Rangers.

That said, it is perhaps a surprise the exciting winger only notched his first Scottish Premiership goal when he rounded off his team's 3-0 win at Dundee on Sunday.

Despite the curling finish at Dens Park being his only league strike for the Ibrox club, he now has six goals in all competitions. No Rangers player has more this term.

An early-season flourish of four European goals in his first four club appearances was followed by a strike against Europa League opponents Sturm Graz last month.

And the 22-year-old's underlying data suggests more goals are on the way.

Gassama has had by far the most shots (25) of any Rangers player, although those efforts have generated an expected goals rating of just 1.53, which suggests he has had few clear-cut chances.

However, the attacker still ranks top among his team-mates for touches in the opposition box (60) and dribbles completed (20).

Meanwhile, only James Tavernier and Nico Raskin have registered more successful passes in the final third and Gassama has created 10 chances from open play.

The forward's defensive work is also eye-catching, with defensive duo Tavernier and John Souttar the only Rangers players to win back possession more often.

Gassama previously worked with Rangers head coach Danny Rohl when the pair were at Sheffield Wednesday.

The winger thrived under the German manager in the English Championship and it would be no surprise to see that continue north of the border.

A semblance of calm is taking hold at Rangers after months of turmoil.

The ill-fated reign of Russell Martin left the club in the lower reaches of the Premiership, but there are encouraging signs under new boss Danny Rohl.

Dissatisfaction remains among the support at those in positions of power, with recruitment a particularly thorny issue.

The international break provides the chance to pause for breath and reflect after a turbulent few months at Ibrox.

So, if you could change one thing about Rangers' season so far, what would it be?

Let us know here.

Rangers midfielder Nedim Bajrami is dissatisfied with his current role at Ibrox, says Albania head coach Sylvinho. (Sun), external

Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum backs Nick Walsh's decision not to send off Celtic defender Auston Trusty in the recent Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers. Trusty appeared to catch goalkeeper Jack Butland's head with a foot. (Sun), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

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The latest international break allows us a natural point at which to mark Danny Rohl's report card for the first few weeks in the job as Rangers head coach.

Three league wins and three cup defeats in his six games, improvement in certain areas of the team's performance and plenty of room for further enhancement as the German looks to restore respectability at Ibrox.

Crucially, it appears the players, on the whole, are buying into the new manager's messaging. Whatever he is asking them to do, there seems a willingness to go and carry out those instructions, rather than looking like a group of players who had only met that morning.

Rohl has had to learn a lot about his squad in-game, with limited opportunities for full training sessions, and so there has been a level of experimentation (formation and personnel) and changes within games as he seeks the best formula.

At least this break affords him a decent amount of time to work with those players not away on international duty and we should see more of a Rohl-style team in the run-up to Christmas.

The January transfer window will be fascinating at Rangers. He has between now and then to try to establish where he would like to strengthen if possible and which players he would like to move on (easier said than done).

Which brings us to the still under-fire Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart. Many questions remain over the standard of recruitment done under their watch in the summer and a large proportion of the support still want them to go the way of Russell Martin, although that seems unlikely.

January will also be crucial for them. But more on that nearer the time.

Rangers will not go back in for Rayo Vallecano defender Nobel Mendy, 21, in January after a deal almost materialised during the summer. (Daily Record), external

Former Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson reveals he was once asked if he would be interested in becoming Rangers CEO. (Scottish Sun), external

Jamie Currie
Fan writer

Three Premiership wins in a row shows Danny Rohl is slowly but surely improving things.

It's not perfect, but he's winning in the league and that is all that matters. The 3-0 victory at Dundee was really pleasing, especially how we managed to kill the game within 15 minutes.

Mikey Moore is becoming a good player to watch, and it was nice to see him grab a goal too.

The 18-year-old Spurs loanee has really improved since the early days of Russell Martin, but I suppose everyone has and the general mood of the fanbase has too.

The three subs at half-time killed the momentum yet we could have scored another couple. But when the players get the job done early you can let them off with the drop in performance as long as they keep the back door shut.

Rangers' Dens Park performance was the ideal tonic following the 2-0 loss to Roma. We have a belief and quality issue in the Europa League and that is down to our two good friends, Martin and Kevin Thelwell.

All we can do now is see what happens when Rohl has some time on the pitch with the squad before Livingston pitch up at Ibrox a week on Saturday.

We have to make sure we beat David Martindale's men and then follow it up with a home win against Braga to get our first Europa League points on the board.

But so far, it's small steps in the right direction for Rohl. Let's see if he can continue the progress after the break.

Image source, Getty Images

Two Italian clubs are weighing up January approaches for Rangers and Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin, with Ibrox sources indicating a bid of £18m to £20m could force their hand. (TeamTalk), external

Rangers could increase revenue by around £4m per season if they press ahead with the board's ambitious plans to expand Ibrox again. (Football Insider), external

Rangers are seeking another meeting with the Scottish FA, with the Ibrox club of the view that the latter's key match incident panel two-to-one ruling validates their belief that Celtic defender Auston Trusty should have been sent off rather than shown a yellow card for catching goalkeeper Jack Butland's head with a foot during the recent Premier Sports Cup semi-final. (Sky Sports), external

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Rangers will privately think they are still in the Scottish title race despite not saying so publicly, according to former Ibrox striker and assistant Billy Dodds.

Danny Rohl has won all three league games since taking over from the sacked Russell Martin as head coach, but although they narrowed the gap to leaders Hearts to 12 points on Sunday, they also remain five behind reigning champions Celtic.

"I think, in the building, they'll be saying to themselves, we're still in this," Dodds told BBC Scotland's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Publicly, I think they'll be playing it all down and I think it's the right thing to do with all the problems they've had so far this season."

"They've actually done pretty well to even get in and about it from where they were."

Dodds thinks Rangers will look to strike a balance between allowing Rohl to add to his squad in January while not giving up on the signings made under Martin by under-fire director of football Kevin Thelwell.

"They've got to be careful where they go because they have spent a lot, brought in a lot of players," he said.

"Do they go wholesale again? I think if they can keep up the consistent run, put a few results together, you can maybe tweak, try and get a couple out, try and get a couple in.

"Honestly, the January window is such a hard window. I wouldn't be going wholesale. I think if you go wholesale again, you're admitting your mistakes.

"So I think Kevin Thelwell will be wanting to change a few things about but show a trust in these players that he's brought in to try and get the best out of them.

"To try and say to [chairman] Andrew Kavanagh that, look, I was correct. I've brought them in, they didn't hit the ground running. I'll tweak it because I really believe in them."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Rangers swept to a fully deserved 3-0 win at Dundee on Sunday and have three players in my team of the week.

John Souttar kept Dundee quiet all afternoon, making the required blocks and interventions.

Nicolas Raskin has an incredible knack of finding space in the box from set-pieces and timing his headers to perfection, and did it again to open the scoring at Dens.

Mikey Moore scored his first Rangers goal at the weekend, and had another disallowed rightly for offside. He is highly rated and it will be interesting to see how he kicks on from here.

Mikey Moore hopes he can kick on for Rangers after coming through the "toughest time" of his budding career.

The 18-year-old attacker joined the Ibrox club on loan from Tottenham in the summer, but struggled to make an impact under previous head coach Russell Martin.

However, he has thrived under new boss Danny Rohl and scored his first goal for the club in Sunday's 3-0 Scottish Premiership win over Dundee.

"It was a difficult start for me and I don't think I showed anywhere near what I know I can do," Moore said.

"Mentally it's been unbelievable for me because it's a massive club and I think it's strengthened me up a lot because it's probably the toughest time I've been through.

"So now I'm happy to be coming out of it, but now I need to keep on going and performing."

Moore was asked about speculation he was aiming for a return to North London.

"I was never ready to go back," he said.

"I always knew that at some point it would change and I've changed it for myself a little bit in the last few weeks, but I need to keep building and playing even better than I am.

"I'm feeling a lot more confident, I'm getting used to the league, used to my teammates and the manager's helped me a lot as well, he's come in and he's gave me confidence and belief in myself which has been good from him, so I'm excited to keep going.

"There's a lot of pressure on a young boy coming from the Premier League, but as long as I'm improving and I'm helping Rangers go win games and picking up goals and helping the team, that's all that matters for now."

Moore has been given a more central role under former Sheffield Wednesday boss Rohl, which the England Under-19s international thinks suits him.

"I think it helps me being in that role," he said.

"I always want to be involved in the game as much as possible and I like to get in the pockets.

"I can play wide but I think I've had a bit of a mix of both, so I'm enjoying the role I've been given."

We asked for your thoughts after Rangers beat Dundee 3-0 in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Here's what some of you said:

Steven: Really positive start - unlucky to have the third chalked off. Moving the ball faster but still signs of slack passing and a little sloppiness. Mikey Moore had his best game for Rangers and Nico Raskin continues to stand out. Question marks around Bojan Miovski, who only seemed to be chasing the ball and closing the goalkeeper down. Mohamed Diomande is a shadow of the player from a couple of seasons ago. I'd be starting Lyall Cameron or Connor Barron ahead of him. Danilo was poor again today. But, three wins on the bounce in the league is welcome and something we simply couldn't have achieved under the previous manager. Onwards and upwards.

Frazer: Pleased for Danny Rohl. He was written off by many before he had kicked a proverbial ball. Football can take a backseat, it's over, it'll be enjoyable games to watch but it's all about the league and putting together a good run of games. The league is anything but over, everything to play for and cheer about for the remainder of the season. Well done Danny.

Ross: Progress at last! Great day for Moore and Raskin, Jack Butland provides the goods again and Djeidi Gassama scores a cracker. However, I am concerned by the amount of players unable to play well consistently, with Oliver Antman and Nasser Djiga being the main ones. We need to offload many in January, but it's a good start.

Alec: Good to some goals at last but Dundee were poor in defence, it wont be as easy against most other teams.

Louise: A good response from the midweek woes. I think most fans would agree our focus must be on domestic football, and closing the gap on Celtic and Hearts is key. We started the game well and it was great to see Moore with a bit more freedom and he was great. A bit concerning that we took our foot off the gas in the second-half, but Gassama's goal was fantastic and it was game over. It's great to hear the Rangers fans singing a managers name again and I hope Rohl can continue to turn things around.

David: Competitive in the Premiership is the true level we have reached so far under Rohl. He's doing okay, bearing in mind he's got very little to work with. We looked decent at times against a very poor Dundee side but the second half was brutal.

Watch highlights from Rangers' 3-0 win over Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

Available to UK users only.

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has refused to be drawn on whether the Ibrox club need to sign another centre-forward in January and insists he can get more out of their current strikers. (The Herald), external

Former Everton and Rangers striker Duncan Ferguson says Youssef Chermiti has all the attributes to be successful after his summer move from the English club to Ibrox and just needs time to find his feet through luck and confidence and forgetting the big-money price tag. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has refused to be drawn on whether the Ibrox club need to sign another centre-forward in January and insists he can get more out of their current strikers. (The Herald), external

Former Everton and Rangers striker Duncan Ferguson says Youssef Chermiti has all the attributes to be successful after his summer move from the English club to Ibrox and just needs time to find his feet through luck and confidence and forgetting the big-money price tag. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Rangers head coach Danny Rohl: "I'm proud. That's two clean sheets in the last two away games in the league and we scored three today, which is fantastic.

"It's a step forward but I know we need to work more.

"At the moment I'm happy we took nine points from nine.

"I said before the game I want to see a hungry team, hungry for points, to win duels. The 2-0 and the 3-0 were nice goals, with good combinations.

"I appreciate the first three weeks. There is a lot of support around me, from the staff, the players, the supporters.

"I love to see my team celebrate wins with the supporters together. It's a great feeling after 90 minutes of hard work. Football is up and down but if you stick together you are much more powerful."

Rangers were comfortable winners at Dens Park, with Nico Raskin, Mikey Moore and Djeidi Gassama on target.

You can read the match report here.

Rangers supporters must be pleased with much-improved league form, while that win over Celtic last month must seem like a long time ago for Dundee followers.

Rangers fans, give us your thoughts here.

Dundee fans, have your say here.