THE lack of transfer activity at Rangers so far this summer is starting to concern me.

I know Ally McCoist is away at the moment after getting married in New York last week.

But I still would have expected more players to have moved on by now and at least one or two to come in to replace them.

So far Rangers have only released Chris Hegarty, Andy Little and Ross Perry.

Hegarty has returned to Northern Ireland to sign for Linfield, and Little's and Perry's deals finished so they could be moved off the wage bill easily.

I have no doubt a few lads who have sat on the sidelines this season will follow them.

But the fact there has been so little player movement at Ibrox so far is starting to alarm me, and risks letting other clubs in the SPFL Championship to get ahead of them.

By all accounts, Hearts are about to sign two players who did well for Craig Levein at Dundee United - Prince Buaben and Morgaro Gomis.

That underlines what we already knew - Hearts mean to bounce straight back to the top flight.

They will want the title every bit as much as Hibs and Rangers, so Ally desperately needs to strengthen his squad both at the back and up front.

He needs to bring in players who can give him a few more goals as his team is up against far superior opposition.

He has been linked with Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller. Both men could score regularly in the second tier and against top-flight teams in cup contests.

He must also find new faces at the back. He has been linked with Gavin Gunning of Dundee United and Shaun Hutchinson of Motherwell. Both would be shrewd acquisitions.

I watched Motherwell pip Aberdeen to second spot in the Premiership at Pittodrie on the final day of the league season, and Hutchinson was the best player on the park.

Bringing in that quartet would make a hell of a difference to Rangers next season.

But nothing continues to happen, and until the club's financial situation is clear I doubt Ally can approach players. It is very, very difficult for him to get people in.

Many supporters have not renewed season tickets. Some may have held off so as to get a batch of seats together. The situation is very uncertain.

But the club needs money to pay wages and if there has been a significant drop in the number of season tickets sold it is not inconceivable more staff will be made redundant.

The situation highlights what I have long maintained - there must be investment above season-ticket money.

What is happening with Dave King is anybody's guess. He has gone very quiet: it would be good for Rangers fans to know what his plans are.

The players will return for the start of pre-season training in a few weeks. I would like to think when they do they will know what the financial situation is at the club.

By all accounts, Arnold Peralta is not keen on returning to Glasgow, far from his home in Honduras. To make matters worse he has not played that many games.

But I don't think he would be a huge loss. He was a decent player, nothing exceptional.

If the club can get him off the wage bill then it would free up cash to bring someone else in. But a lot still depends on what happens elsewhere and the state of the bank balance.

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