When Alex Rae sat down with Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha to discuss the possibility of joining his coaching staff earlier this year, he brought the no-nonsense style he was renowned for on the pitch to his assessment of the Ibrox team.

It was another former Rangers star, Jonatan Johansson, who was ultimately selected to become the Portuguese boss’s third in command, but the meeting with Rae may well have left its mark on Caixinha.

He has followed the former St Mirren boss’s advice during the summer, solidifying the spine of his team through the acquisitions of Bruno Alves at the back, and the likes of Ryan Jack and Graham Dorrans in midfield.

But the one area Rae feels still requires attention is in attack, where he believes the burden of creating and scoring goals is resting unfairly on the shoulders of Kenny Miller.

Rae is concerned by the lack of goals that Rangers managed in their humiliating Europa League exit to Progres Neiderkorn, netting just once in two games against the minnows of Luxembourg.

And he hopes that Caixinha can finally get deals for Jamie Walker of Hearts and Kenny McLean of Aberdeen over the line to boost the attacking firepower at his disposal in time for the league opener against Motherwell.

“I know it’s a couple of weeks away, but Rangers need to find a way of unlocking doors,” Rae said.

“If you look at the games they have played so far, whether they be friendlies or the European games, they’ve been struggling to break teams down.

“They need to come up with a solution for that. I think that Pedro is on record saying exactly that in the last couple of days, that while he is really pleased with the general overall play, they have to find a cutting edge from somewhere.

“Bringing in Kenny McLean and Jamie Walker - if they can get them over the line - will give them that extra bit of firepower going forward.

“Kenny Miller would obviously be in the team too, and they’ve got the other guys that have been brought in from Portugal and Mexico, so we’ll see what they can bring to the table.

“They are going to come up against teams who are going to set up defensively, and they have to adapt to that.

“When you look at Dorrans and the level that he has played at, then the fact that he is in is a massive boost.

“I was on record last season as saying this, and I said it again when I got interviewed by Pedro Caixinha for the number three job, that it was important to strengthen right through the centre of the team, and Pedro has done that.

“Ryan Jack gives them a bit of stability in terms of protection, which was an area that they were very, very light last season, and the key word here is balance.

“We’ve still to see Carlos Pena make an appearance, so we might still not be best-placed to assess what the Rangers midfield will look like, but I’m led to believe that Alves brought a stability to the back four at the weekend, which you would expect given his experience.

“But it does concern me, even at this early stage, just where the goals are going to come from.”

Rae is worried that Rangers’ early European exit will work against them when they take to the field against a Motherwell team who will have regular competitive action under their belts by the time they line up at Fir Park a week on Sunday.

But he is hoping that the creditable draw against Marseille at the weekend, as well as the run-out against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough this Saturday, will be sufficient preparation for the challenges that await them in their opening league fixtures.

“It was interesting listening to Pedro speaking and saying that he is getting closer to the team that will probably start the season, and now they can go to work on that over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“Now it will be down to how these guys settle in and adapt, and over the coming weeks that will be important. The quicker they can get there the better.

“They really need to be firing for the start of the season. As well as the visit to Motherwell, they have both Edinburgh teams and Ross County, so it’s important that they hit the ground running in the first month of the season.

“Motherwell are looking more physical this year, and they still have Louis Moult, who has been one of the stand-out strikers in the league for the past couple of seasons.

“The fact that it is very condensed at Fir Park too will allow Motherwell to play a very high pressing game against Rangers on the day, so it’s something they will have to be wary of. And of course, Motherwell have been playing more competitive games.

“I was always of the opinion when I was a player that for me, it took five or six games to get myself up to full-tilt.

“Now, that obviously varies from player to player, but for me it was always important to get those five or six games in, even psychologically.

“Match action is so important to hitting the ground running when the season does get going.”