Rangers have 11 midfielders on the books, and three of their seven summer signings are central midfielders. That is the backdrop for C. Devlin's arrival from Heart Of Midlothian, and he is not pretending the challenge is small. He described the move to Rangers as a "massive challenge" when it comes to minutes.

Halliday's view on the creative gap

Andy Halliday's criticism goes straight to the point Rangers still have to solve. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound, he said last season brought "a real lack of creativity from midfield" and added that the club have 11 midfielders, but "none of them can dictate a game". He also said they are "all very much in the same mould" and do not score goals or create chances.

That is a fair concern, even with the squad looking fuller. Rangers already had six central midfielders on their books before accounting for three more who were out on loan, and Halliday's point is that quantity has not yet turned into a midfielder who can run the game. He also said they still have "so much business to do".

Devlin is selling himself as part of the fight, not as the answer to every problem. He said he has never got anywhere without "just fighting as hard as I can" and that he treats every training session and game like it might be his last. He also said it is normal to be linked with expensive players at a club like Rangers, because if you do not expect that, you are probably not in the right head space.

The more awkward question is whether the current group can produce enough invention. Nicolas Raskin has had rave reviews at the World Cup and has expressed a desire to move to a top-five league, which keeps another moving part in the picture, but that still leaves Rangers trying to build a midfield that does more than simply work hard out of possession.

Halliday's warning feels the stronger read for now. Rangers have added bodies, not a clear creative solution, and Devlin has walked into a room where the battle for minutes is real. The next public test comes with the recruitment still unfinished and the midfield debate still open.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →