After a summer of much anticipated and desperately needed change at Ibrox, the American Revolution is set to storm the battle grounds of the Scottish Premiership as Rangers make the trip through to ML1 to face Motherwell in their opening league fixture.
We have already seen glimpses of Russell Martin's Rangers in competitive action on the European stage as the Bears dispatched Greek-side Panathinaikos 3-1 on aggregate with a fair share of heart-in-mouth moments over the two legs. In addition to this, we have also seen Rangers put in two battling comeback friendly performances against Club Brugge and Middlesbrough at Ibrox respectively.
Whilst, Rangers have "more growing to do”, the support has been cautiously optimistic and encouraged ahead of the new domestic season with regime change leading to a realignment of the club's football department and most importantly the arrival of exciting prospects such as Djeidi Gassama. This marks a stark difference to this time last year when Rangers found themselves having to decamp from Ibrox with an uninspiring transfer window all within the context of never-ending boardroom chaos.
Rangers' season will not be defined by the final whistle on Saturday night, however, the trip to Fir Park represents the first stop on the road to redemption as the new regime looks to take Rangers back to where they belong.
URGENT SQUAD SURGERY STILL IN SESSION
Rangers have already made significant in-roads in reshaping a squad that has consistently fallen short in the Scottish Premiership. This summer has seen the arrival of Lyall Cameron, Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell, Emmanuel Fernandez, Thelo Aasgaard, Nasser Djiga, Djeidi Gassama and Mikey Moore in addition to Robin Propper and Ross McCausland who are the only permanent depatures thusfar, while Mason Munn has departed on loan to Dunfermline.
Russell Martin has consistently expressed that the squad will "look different" in the coming weeks as the trio of Martin, Kevin Thelwell and Dan Purdy look to bolster Rangers' ranks with the "right players in the right areas". Whilst information regarding transfer dealings has been notably tight-lipped under the new regime leading to an unreliable ride on the rumour mill.
Rangers have been heavily linked to players such as Oliver Antman, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, and Dor Turgeman . On the flip side, players such as Jose Cifuentes, Clinton Nsiala, Leon King, Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies will be looking to find new clubs as they are not part of Martin's plans. Interest around Hamza Igamane and Nico Raskin may also result in Rangers potentially selling both players for considerable fees should their valuations be met.
It is clear from the Panathinaikos tie that the squad still requires surgery particularly at left back, centre back and right wing. Whilst, these positions need strengthened as a matter of urgency, the transfer window will remain open until 19.00 BST on Monday 1st September 2025.
As such, Rangers will more than likely be active right up until the death as targets become available whilst accounting for potential player exits. This means that there is a high likelihood that the starting XI at Fir Park this evening will be much different to the one that takes to the field at Ibrox against Hearts on Saturday 13th September.
With this in mind, it is important to remember that this squad will be in a state of flux over the month of August as Martin and his men attempt to navigate a busy opening block of fixtures on multiple fronts.
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HELTER SKELTER START
If Rangers' new recruits both on and off the pitch needed a nice, steady month to settle in and imbed their style of play then the Footballing Gods had other ideas. After a gruelling 180 minutes against Panathinaikos including a "boiling" second leg in Athens on Tuesday night, Rangers will journey to a slightly cooler North Lanarkshire to take on Motherwell.
The Steelmen, now managed by Russell Martin's former team-mate Jens Berthel Askou, had four tightly contested games with Rangers last season including a victory at Ibrox in Barry Ferguson's first home match as Interim Head Coach. Similarly, the Gers must travel to Paisley to face St Mirren, who also caused Rangers trouble last year, taking seven out of an available twelve points off of Rangers.
This notably included a well-deserved victory at Ibrox that seen Phillipe Clement relieved of his duties. Rangers also welcome Alloa to Ibrox in the middle of the month in the Premier Sports Cup Round of 16, whilst this would be a perceived "gimmie" tie, I doubt the Rangers squad or support will feel that way following the nadir of last season's Scottish Cup exit at home to Queen's Park.
On the European front Rangers must battle Czech Side Viktoria Plzen in the UCL third round qualifier with the first leg due to be played at Ibrox on Tuesday night and the return leg in Czechia taking place the following week. Should Rangers see off the Czech challengers, they could potentially face the likes of Benfica, Salzburg or Nice in the UCL play-off round at the end of the month.
To top it off, Russell Martin will be tasked with toppling Celtic in his first Old Firm in the dugout, as the defending champions pull up on Edmiston Drive on Sunday 31st August. Brendan Rodgers and his side will come to Ibrox feeling like they have something to prove as a toiling Rangers bested the champions in head-to-head games last season, including an upset victory at Celtic Park courtesy of an Igamane thunder-blast.
After watching Rangers' displays thus far and considering the urgent squad surgery that still needs to be carried out, it seems rather unlikely that the Ibrox side will come out of August unscathed. However, Russell Martin and his team MUST continue to show improvement and give the support something to believe in at this foundational stage. This will be vital in ensuring Rangers can sail through Poseidon's storm on a wave of momentum.
HAPPY TO HOPE
As we embark on another quest for success as is the tradition of this great institution, it is worth reflecting on the cautious optimism the support are feeling at this moment.
Season 24/25 will be remembered as an abyss of a campaign from pre-season through to the final whistle at Easter Road. I can still remember the vivid sense of dejection and despair at watching a directionless Rangers stumble from shambles to shambles. From being decamped from Ibrox at the start of the campaign, to being dumped out of the cup at home to a lower league side and never looking likely to even remotely mount a title challenge at any point. The ball was burst before the game had started. Last year was the end of the line of years of mismanagement and snowballing incompetence at every level of the club. Since Rangers last lifted the league title in May 2021 until Clement's dismissal in February 2025, Rangers have been through four managers, four chairmen, three CEOs, multiple u-turns in structure, all culminating in a squad that has delivered two domestic trophies out of a possible twelve despite having the highest wage bill in the country. Systemic change was required to revitalise Rangers.
That systemic change arrived to much excitement in May when the consortium of Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises obtained a majority stake in the club. Soon to follow was the three-pronged spear of Kevin Thelwell, Dan Purdy and Russell Martin, who are looking to take the Light Blues back to the top with a football framework that asserts "dominance and control" through displaying "courage and intensity" in every aspect of the game.
It hasn't been perfect and nobody should be ignorant to the fact that further work is urgently required to take Rangers to where they need to be. However, Rangers have shown shoots of progress that fans can be optimistic about. From bouncing back against Brugge and Boro, to seeing off Panathinaikos to guarantee UEL league phase football, in what was the hardest draw Rangers could have been given at this stage of UCL qualifying, progress has been evident. Martin's side have displayed intense pressing and played lovely, one-touch, expansive football at points throughout all of these games, similar to a style of play that has dominated Scottish football in recent years.
There is real and justified reason to feel optimistic about Rangers' chances of success this season if they continue to show progress under Russell Martin and continue to recruit the right players in the right positions.
The Rangers support know all too well that a football season is a long marathon which will produce triumphs and tribulations. Nothing will be won or lost at Fir Park this evening but there lies before Rangers the opportunity to begin the process of building domestic momentum that will set them off on the long road to redemption.
So, whether you are heading along to Fir Park or watching the match on TV, when Rangers line up for the Premiership opener in Motherwell, I know the Rangers support will share the sentiment of "Aye, Ready", as the Bears kick-off what we hope is a long and successful new-era for Rangers.