Gio hopes for a good window, and wants to see more from Kent
Giovanni van Bronckhorst admits he’s facing uncertainty as he looks ahead to the January transfer window.
But the Rangers boss is determined to have a stronger squad when it slams shut.
The Ibrox club have been beset with injuries in recent months and that makes planning for new recruits particularly difficult.
The Dutchman will, however, aim to recruit players who have more impact than the men who arrived last January.
Aaron Ramsey was brought in on loan from Juventus to a great fanfare – but only managed seven appearances, culminating in his crucial penalty miss in the Europa League Final.
Amad Diallo was another loan player who failed to live up to his promise after arriving from Manchester United.
Van Bronckhorst said: “Of course, you always want to add players in January if possible, if needed. But we still have a lot of players out with injuries.
“We have to look at which players are coming back in January. In every window, you firstly don’t want to lose players.
“It’s like the beginning and the end is important because you want to finish the end of the window more strongly than when youwentin.
“That means you have to be prepared for maybe players going out, or adding players to be stronger as a squad.
“That will be no different in this window.
“Last year Aaron was very positive in the games he played, and he also had an influence in the locker room because of his experience.
“In the end, he had injuries. And Diallo didn’t have the impact we wanted him to have.
“When you sign the players, you sign them to have a positive impact. Then you just have to wait to see if that’s the case.”
The Rangers manager hopes his team will be able to bounce back from the midweek defeat by Ajax when they take on St Johnstone today.
That final game in the Champions League campaign was another big occasion when Ryan Kent failed to make the contribution that supporters were looking for.
Van Bronckhorst doesn’t believe that Kent being out of contract at the end of the season is affecting his form – but admits he can’t be sure of that.
He said: “You should ask him, but I don’t think so.
“He needs to score more goals. He needs to position himself where he can score, or get assists.
“His assists are there, but he should score more.
“He’s quick, he can come in the right position, he can score.
“We need goals. If we have goals, we make it so much easier for ourselves in games where we play against a deep block.
“It’s something for Ryan to improve on, and that’s a process we are talking with him about this season, as well as last season.”
Despite calling for a bigger contribution from Kent, his boss doesn’t doubt the 25-year-old’s commitment.
Van Bronckhorst went on: “I’ve had a couple of players like him before as a manager.
“He can be out of the game, and then – in one action – he can decide a game.
“That’s the kind of player he is with his action and speed.
“Sometimes he’s out of the game and then he’s there – getting fouled in the area for a penalty, or providing an assist.
“He’s a player who every time wants to train, and wants to play.
“His character and his energy is still there. Sometimes his actions won’t work, but he will always try.”