FOR the fourth summer in succession, Rangers find themselves back at the drawing board, but the sheet of paper is far from blank.

Supporters have become accustomed to seeing a plethora of players come and go during the summer window in recent years and this one ought to be no different.

Ahead of his first campaign at the helm, Mark Warburton virtually ripped it up and started again as the squad that failed to earn promotion from the Championship was replaced by one which lifted the title with relative ease.

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If that was the revolution at Ibrox, it should have been followed by evolution. Every year, the first team players should have become squad members and those at the bottom of the ladder should have been allowed to leave.

That first window under Warburton has been the most successful that Rangers have had in recent years, with the majority of the players he brought on board proving up to the task, at a relative level, and value for money overall.

There are remnants of that side – the likes of Wes Foderingham and James Tavernier – that have been decent servants and could have places in the Ibrox ranks next season.

But others like Lee Hodson, Andy Halliday and Jason Holt are surely now in the final weeks of their Light Blues careers as Steven Gerrard gets set to put his stamp on the squad.

Since that first flurry of business under Warburton, Rangers’ recruitment has been scattergun and the misses outnumber the hits considerably. If their fortunes on the field are to change, their strike rate in the market must increase significantly.

The household names have failed to live up to their hype and the big fees haven’t been justified as tens of thousands of pounds has gone on players that weren’t up to it every single week.

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The group that Pedro Caixinha inherited from Warburton was never going to challenge Celtic for the Premiership title but, many months and many millions on, Rangers aren’t that much better off.

Dave King and his board certainly can’t be accused of not backing their boss in the market, but they must wince at the thought of some of the deals that have been done.

Warburton was allowed to bring in Joey Barton, while Caixinha got the go-ahead to sign Bruno Alves. But those moves are only parts of the problem are countless players have arrived and failed.

And now it is Gerrard that must pick up the pieces as he gets start to get down to business. He will surely follow his predecessors’ lead and start from scratch but every pound that he spends must be invested wisely in the coming months.

There will be plenty of attention on how much Rangers splash out this summer, but the way money is used is more important that how much of it leaves Ibrox.

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The 37-year-old could easily flog a team and buy a new one if he wishes and few supporters would have any complaints about the sweeping changes.

Gerrard should be looking at four centre-backs, cover at full-back, three midfielders, a couple of wingers and at least one striker. And that is just for starters.

There are few players that fans would be disappointed to see leave and upgrades could even be found on those that survive the immediate cull if Gerrard and Director of Football Mark Allen can operate with nous ahead of the new campaign.

The Liverpool legend could, of course, save himself a few deals, and Rangers a few quid, by proving himself as a coach and improving several of those that he will meet next month.

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It is that approach that has paid dividends for Brendan Rodgers at Celtic. His record in the market hasn’t been all that impressive, but his methods on the training ground have clearly paid off.

Gerrard will be working with a lower quality of raw material, though. Even if he can get an extra ten per cent out of a few, that alone is unlikely to be the enough to turn Rangers into title challengers.

Moving players on and clearing the decks could prove easier said than done in the coming weeks and the Caixinha experiment will continue to cost Rangers for some time yet.

The bill for Gerrard’s rebuilding work must be met, however, if Premiership foundations are to be laid at last at Ibrox.