Graeme Souness: 'Rangers recruitment has not been good enough'

Former Rangers manager Graeme Souness believes the club’s recruitment in recent years has “not been good enough”.

His former side, which began last season with Russell Martin in charge and ended with Danny Rohl, finished third in last season’s Scottish Premiership title race, going on to lose four of the last five games of the split.

Following a dismal start, Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell were sacked in November, with many of their signings criticised.

Souness has slammed his former side’s recruitment in recent years, saying “you need football people to make football decisions”.

“You’ve got to get it right on the pitch, and that’s where Rangers, in their recent history, have got it wrong”, he said.

“The recruitment has not been good enough.”

“You get football people in making football decisions, it’s not rocket science.

“If you’re giving someone that power who’s never played the game, you’re asking for trouble.

“And I know everything is based on stats and numbers, but that only takes you so far.”

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German Rohl left the post in the summer, with Derek McInnes taking the reins at Ibrox in June, having led Hearts to second in the Scottish Premiership last season.

Among the switches in management, it has been another season of change on the pitch, with the Ibrox side closing in on its ninth signing of the summer in the form of Japanese winger Daisuke Yokota.

Former captain James Tavernier is among those to have left, with Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin following McInnes from Hearts.

The fans will be hoping for more transfers incoming, as McInnes’s era got off to an underwhelming start at Tannadice with a 1-1 draw.

Souness added: “Let football people make football decisions.

“Someone coming in who’s never kicked a ball, making those shouts is extremely brave. If it’s all to do with stats and figures, to do with analysts looking at computer screens, with lots of numbers, you’ve got no chance, that doesn’t work.

“I don’t care what anyone says, it doesn’t work.”