THE famous wooden doors at the front of Ibrox could have been replaced by revolving ones in recent years as players have arrived and departed with alarming regularity.

As each manager – from Mark Warburton to Pedro Caixinha, Graeme Murty to Steven Gerrard – has put their stamp on the squad, faces have come and gone and deals have been signed and ripped up.

The process was repeated in the summer as Gerrard revamped the Light Blues squad that he inherited. At that stage, the ins were more important than the outs.

Those that had no future under the 38-year-old were quickly moved on but Rangers are still paying the price for the costly mistakes that they made in backing Warburton and Caixinha with significant sums before their respective exits.

Some of those that left – like midfielder Greg Docherty and youngsters Jamie Barjonas, Aidan Wilson and Zak Rudden – could still have a future at Ibrox if they can prove to Gerrard they have what it takes to force their way into his first team plans.

But tens of thousands of pounds go out the door each week as Carlos Pena, Eduardo Herrera, Jak Alnwick and Joe Dodoo remain Rangers players in name only.

The overhaul that Gerrard oversaw was necessary during the close season and there is no doubt that the group he works with on a daily basis is stronger than any that his predecessors were able to assemble.

The Gers boss doesn’t have a perfect strike rate in the transfer market but there were always going to be errors of judgement made as he sanctioned moves for the first time.

When the window closed earlier this year, the improvement was clear to see but the feelings and fears that Rangers were still short of quality have been realised.

It became evident almost immediately that Umar Sadiq wasn’t going to provide adequate support to Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty up front, while Ovie Ejaria never looked capable of being the creative spark in the middle of park.

That lack of a playmaker to carve teams open and someone else to put the ball in the net has undoubtedly cost Rangers crucial points this term and no matter how the year ends against Hibernian and Celtic, they will be left with feelings of what might have been as the winter break begins.

As the Premiership shuts down, the transfer rumour mill will start to speed up once again and supporters will anxiously wait to see what business Rangers do next month.

A move for Steven Davis would make perfect sense and appease plenty and the Northern Irishman still has the class and quality required to make a difference in the top flight.

But it is the deal to bring a striker to Ibrox that could really give supporters hope that Rangers can challenge for Premiership and Scottish Cup silverware in the coming months.

Dominic Solanke continues to be linked with a switch that would reunite him with Gerrard in Glasgow but the Gers boss has repeatedly played down that prospect in public.

Premier League interest could prove prohibitive to any potential move but a forward player will be brought on board to give Rangers added firepower for the run-in and to take some of the burden off Morelos.

Gerrard needs more from some of those that he signed in the summer but further reinforcements are undoubtedly required as the wage bill gets set to increase once again. Like it was in the summer, that is a necessity for Rangers right now.

Come the end of the campaign, the focus can shift again to offloading those that are of no use and no value to either Gerrard or Rangers. January is about looking forward rather than back, though.

The task of building a title winning team in the space of one transfer window is almost impossible. It takes time for such sides to be assembled and fine-tuned.

But if Gerrard can have a successful January, he will surely be confident that Rangers will be in the mix for medals come May.

The rebuilding work is far from complete. The next stage will prove to be crucial for Rangers.