Gerrard says he’s close to new signings

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard believes he is “not far away” from making the remaining signings he wants to fulfil his ambitions for the season ahead.

Gerrard declined to comment specifically on Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty but confirmed efforts to add to the ten players Rangers have already recruited this summer are “ongoing”.

Hearts booted out Rangers’ initial bid of around £200,000 for Lafferty and are understood to value the Northern Ireland international at closer to £750,000.

Gerrard, who also wants to sign another central

defender before the transfer window closes, said: “We haven’t got much time left and I think every manager out there is in a rush. But we won’t make rushed decisions. If the right person is not out there or the deal is not right or we can’t get it over the line, that’s just the way it is. It’s no secret we are trying to strengthen in one or two areas. The idea is to have two good players to cover each position. We are not far away from that.

“In the coming weeks, I think you’ll see a stronger Rangers XI and bench compared to last year. You will also see people who are good footballers struggling to make the matchday squad of 18. And that’s how we want it. We want healthy competition and people pushing each other.

“The XI will change a lot over the 40 or 60 games, however many we might play, everyone has to be ready when called upon.

“We still want to add a few targets into the group. But I won’t be mentioning names or players that belong to different football clubs. I don’t think that is right.”

The earlier closure of the transfer window in England this year, on 9 August, may free up other signing opportunities for Scottish clubs in the rest of the month but Gerrard would prefer not to wait.

“We are hoping to do it ourselves,” he added. “We don’t want to be relying on when other people are done. We have our targets we want to bring in and we are looking to do it as quick as we can. The quicker we get them in, done, sorted, the quicker they settle, the quicker they get on board with how we want to play.

“The focus is very much on us and not what teams in England are doing. We just want to get our business done as quickly as we can.”