RANGERS are not going to get Scott Allan after having a third bid turned down and should let that matter lie now until January.

Hibs simply cannot sell to them because they would lose the respect of their supporters and their manager might even end up leaving over it.

That’s fine. I think Rangers go back to him in the New Year, agree a pre-contract if he still wants to sign and see where it moves from there. What do Hibs do then should they be going neck-and-neck with Rangers for the Championship?

The Easter Road side have turned down a bid from Rotherham for Allan, and Wigan have also been linked with a move for the player.

But Rangers will still be confident of taking him to Ibrox at some stage, and adding him to the squad Mark Warburton is building.

There is much to be pleased about with the seven first-team players Rangers have already signed anyway. Ahead of the first game of the Ladbrokes Championship season at home to St Mirren tomorrow, here is a rundown of what I have admired about some of them and the improvements I expect others to make.

JAMES TAVERNIER

He has been the stand-out so far. Everyone loves an attacking full-back and the man who started it all for me was Sandy Jardine. He was the first, real man to get forward a lot from that position.

Tavernier performs his defensive duties well and can tackle, but the great thing for me is that he has an absolute Rolls Royce engine and it is a great sight to see him storming down that right flank.

He likes to play little one-twos and we all saw the little backheel he produced towards the end of the League Cup win over Peterhead. The fans love him and I think he can be a real star.

He ran 40 yards to get on the end of a pass from Nicky Clark against Peterhead and finished like a striker. He can score goals and has shown that he is dangerous at free-kicks. His ability at set-pieces will be an important weapon in Rangers’ armoury.

ROB KIERNAN

There are still question marks for me. I know he is a big lad, but I thought Rory McAllister gave him a hard time in the Peterhead game.

I think he is a fair centre-half, if I could use that word. He is rather timid when he goes up for an aerial challenge. He is not like a Tom Forsyth or a Colin Jackson, who goes right through a striker when winning headers.

I would like to see him be a wee bit more aggressive. He is fine with the ball at his feet and does not complicate matters, but he could attack the ball more in the air.

DANNY WILSON

Danny has never been a great aerial player, but he wins his fair share and what I would like to see him doing more of is making the most of his passing ability.

First time round at Rangers, I remember seeing him complete ambitious 40-yard passes that changed the play. Perhaps he is not allowed to do that within the current framework as the focus is on playing the ball through midfield, but I would like to see him get a wee bit more involved.

Teams will lay off Rangers this season and I hope he can get forward a little and make his passing count.

MARTYN WAGHORN

When you are a centre-forward for Rangers, you need to score goals and he does not necessarily have a great reputation for that, but he strikes me as a player with a fair bit of pace, good ability and a cracking left foot. He looks like he can score the simple goals as well.

He leads the line really well. There is no point in throwing high balls up to him as he is not the biggest, but his movement is great. He should have had two or three against Peterhead, but I wouldn’t worry about missed chances right now.

He will create chances for others too. Any Rangers striker should be looking for 20 goals in that league, but I would say Waghorn should be happy if he manages 15. I would like to see a bigger striker to come in as cover, though. There will be games and times where it is likely to be necessary to send the ball long.

JASON HOLT

I see him as a good box-to-box player who is more than capable of scoring goals for you. He scored a fantastic goal against Ayr United in a closed-door game and was only denied by an excellent save by the keeper against Peterhead.

When you only have one striker through the middle, you need him to enjoy good support from midfielder and Holt can certainly do that if he is given a run in the team.

ANDY HALLIDAY

He has been a revelation and his interviews make it clear that he is a Rangers man through and through. He plays like a boy fulfilling his dreams because he works his socks off, has a tackle in him and can break up the play nicely.

As he showed with that glorious finish against Hibs, he has no shortage of ability and vision. The good thing about the Rangers midfield is that the three central players interact well and Halliday’s versatility lets him fit into different positions.

WES FODERINGHAM

All he has really done is play the ball out to full-backs and centre-halves. He lost the first goal against Hibs and I don’t know if he will feel he could have saved that, but I think he has only had about four shots at him in the first two games he has played.

He looks decent with the ball at his feet and that is going to be important with the way the team plays. There is no point in going long as there is no real height up front, but we will have to regard him as a work in progress for now.

Glasgow Times:

Time for Ally and Mark to make up

WE keep talking about the Rangers Family – and Ally McCoist and Mark Hateley are unquestionably part of that.

So it is such a shame that there appears to be an ongoing problem between them.

Mark stated earlier this week that the fitness levels of the current Rangers side look so much better than last season and you can understand where he is coming from.

They look far fitter and everyone can see that, but they have seven new players who are probably younger, fitter and hungrier.

We speak far too much about what has happened in the last two or three years. Ex-players and everyone else should be thinking about moving forward now. What’s done is done and there is now a new regime in place.

Ally was upset at stories which circulated about Mark asking players about training methods at the club last season. It seems players got back to Ally and told him that he was asking these questions for one reason or another.

In fairness, Mark said that was not the case. Although we are not 100 per cent sure of what happened, there was a fall-out there.

Yes, Mark said what he felt this week and most people would agree with him, but I am sure Ally will not be too pleased at what is coming out.

It is up to Mark and Ally whether they get together somewhere down the line to discuss things.

If they do, it has to be done privately. They should keep it between themselves.

Ally takes everything to heart and I am sure he will be upset, but I have no doubt that things could be worked out if they picked up the phone or went out for a coffee together.

They cannot let it fester. It would be sad if they never spoke to each other again after everything they have gone through together.

Glasgow Times:

No place for spitting ... it makes my blood boil

SPITTING is one of the worst things that can happen to you in football. It is the most disgusting thing ever.

You can break a leg or be the victim of a bad tackle, but there is nothing more appalling than the likes of biting and spitting.

It happened to me two or three times over the course of my career in European games and you really have to count to 10 to prevent yourself from exploding.

If someone did it to you in the street, you would have no hesitation whatsoever in banjoing him and those same thoughts go through your mind on the pitch.

Scott Ross of Peterhead has accepted a two-game ban for spitting at Nicky Law during the League Cup game with Rangers and I would hope that the action taken by the SFA will send out a warning to other players that this is not going to be allowed to go unpunished.

Others can decide whether two games is an appropriate punishment, but at least some kind of message has been sent out.

There were a couple of little skirmishes in the game at the weekend, but I didn’t know this had happened until I read about the action the SFA had taken.

Yes, Ross has apologised and claimed he did not spit directly at Law. Players do spit or blow their noses during games to clear their airways and we have to take Ross’ statement at face value, but it has to be remembered that his own club fined him and he accepted the Notice of Complaint issued to him from Hampden.

The quicker we can get this out of the game, the better.

It disgusted me when it happened to me as a player and it disgusts me now.

Glasgow Times:

Your question for Derek Johnstone

RODDY MARSHALL of Glasgow asks: “Were Rangers right to let Calum Gallagher leave for St Mirren?”

DJ says: “Calum looked decent when he made a few appearances for Rangers earlier in his career, but I don’t think he was going to get a chance under Mark Warburton.

“I think he is a good player and believe St Mirren will be a fantastic move for him. He should be the perfect foil to Steven Thompson up front there.

“He has watched the likes of Tom Walsh, Andy Murdoch and Barrie McKay get chances ahead of him and that has probably influenced his decision. He is 20 years old and has to play. He is certainly good enough for St Mirren.”

If you have a question for Derek, just email him at dj@eveningtimes.co.uk and we’ll print the answer alongside the question.