Steven Gerrard has explained the pre-season absence of Zambian striker Fashion Sakala is down to some passport hitches and Covid rules.
But the former KV Oostende man is set to meet up with his new manager and team-mates at Rangers in the coming days.
The Ibrox side beat out competition from England and France to land the 24-year-old on a pre-contract but he's yet to make his grand arrival in Govan.
Gerrard worked closely with director of football Ross Wilson to get that one over the line and this time of year is when he and the rest of the recruitment team earn their money.
They've been working hard to identify more transfer targets to improve Gerrard's Premiership winners even further and prepare for an assault on the Champions League as the manager spoke to Rangers TV.
Every word of Gerrard's address
How has pre-season gone?
It’s gone really well. The most important thing at this stage is to get everyone through the first week.
People are in different places in terms of where they are at from a physical point of view. Some people have had longer rests than others, some have come back with niggles.
It’s important to be patient now and make sure we manoeuvre everyone through week one. The majority will be involved in the first game against Partick Thistle but we’ll be careful with one or two.
They could play if it was an important game but because it’s game one of pre-season sometimes you take the more cautious approach with one or two and that’s the reason why one or two won’t be seen against Partick.
How can you use the more ‘normal’ pre-season to your advantage?
It’s been normal in terms of getting a long break. My experience in the first three years is you get a really short break and then get back for qualifiers and it slaps you in the face quickly and it’s a bit of a shock and you have to get used to it quickly.
This year is slightly different and more normal because we have a longer rest. We’ve had enough time to soak up what happened last year and think about how we want to look moving forward from a staff point of view.
We’ve had a lot of zoom calls and time together to prepare for the new season. Everyone is reenergised and excited to come back, I think the long break has helped that.
Everyone is full of confidence and belief because we’re off the back of a successful season but it’s all about moving forward now. It’s my job to make sure everyone is in the right place for the challenges that will come our way.
How pleased are you with the shape the players have returned in for pre-season?
The majority of them have come back really well. There’s a lot of elite footballers here who look after themselves really well.
The game has changed from when you could sit at home for four weeks and do nothing and eat and drink what you want. The game has changed, you’ve got to remain professional and focused in the off season.
We want the players to have two or three weeks down but they’ve had work from Jordan (Milsom) and the fitness staff to do and the majority have done very well. That’s why they are elite footballers.
The majority are in a good place and come back well, there’s one or two have had a good summer but we’ll get them on the right page and they’ll be ready to go come that first game.
How will you manage the international players reintegration into the group?
That’s pretty normal in a tournament year. We’re very proud to see our players go away and represent our club for their countries.
The likes of Glen Kamara has done himself no harm at all. He played in all the games and was consistent and one of Finland’s best players. I was really proud sitting at home watching him and pleased for Glen.
Slightly different for Fil (Helander) and Borna (Barisic). Borna has had injury issues which have held him back, which is disappointing because I know how excited he was and how much he was looking forward to the tournament.
Fit has been there as a back up and managed to get on in the last game which is good for him to get a taste of it because it can be frustrating when you’re a back up player and not getting on. For him to get game time was fantastic.
It’s really different for Nathan (Patterson) because what a buzz. What an opportunity Steve Clarke has given him to go there with Scotland and be part of that after the successful qualifying campaign.
For Nathan to come in to that and get that opportunity, I’m sure he’s grateful. That taste of action will do him the world of good moving forward.
And great for Alfredo Morelos in the Colombia squad?
Fantastic. We all know how proud Alfredo is to represent Colombia. He’s on the other side of the world but we still have our eyes on and still making contact and making sure he’ll do the right thing. When he finishes in the tournament he’ll have a short break and then come and join us for the rest of pre-season and we’ll try have him ready for game one as well.
It’s important he does the right things when he stops until he comes back because he’ll have a very short pre-season and we need Alfredo to be fit and firing for the important games coming our way.
What do you want to see from the academy players involved in pre-season?
Energy. Personality. Quality.
We’re throwing the ball in their court, the gauntlet is down to them to show they can handle themselves around top players who have just won a Championship.
We’ll look after them like we do and we’ll be there to support them but this is a perfect opportunity to see half a dozen academy kids get an opportunity around the big players and big personalities in our group.
You see quickly whether they can handle it, it’s a sink or swim situation and to be fair to them, they’ve handled themselves well.
Did you get a chance to reflect on what you’ve achieved?
Last year isn’t gone. Last year is history. We’ve created history and it’ll never go. It’ll be there for the rest of our lives.
The players have done ever so well. You don’t achieve something so big and it vanishes and people forget about it.
But we’re well aware that the language of 55 has to stop now and we have to move on to 56 and try and achieve that.
We have to work harder to achieve that. The challenge is going to come from different teams all over the league. We’re going to be the team who is hunted now rather than one of the hunters so the mentality has to change.
We need to keep and maintain our standards we’ve shown over the last 12 months and even turn the heat up even more.
We need to add to it, so we’re actively working hard to bring some good players in alongside the recruitment already done in Jack (Simpson), Scott (Wright), Nnamdi (Ofoborh) and Fashion Sakala will join us in the coming days.
We’ve got some passport and Covid issues to get through first but he’s very excited to join us as well.
The squad is in good shape but it will better in a few weeks when we add to it. It’s a very exciting time but the message to send is myself, the staff and everyone around this group of players are going to push them even harder than we have before to make sure we add to the success. 55 isn’t gone though, it’s history and it’s fantastic.
150th anniversary of the club
It’s a fantastic club to be involved in this football club in whichever department you’re in. We achieved last year’s success together. It wasn’t just about the players although they were the main reason why.
Whichever department you’ve been in at the club, whether you work at Ibrox on the ground staff, in the kitchens, in the media, whichever department you’ve worked in you’ve played your part in helping this club become successful and the timing is excellent because we’re going into such an important year.
It’s the 150th year and for a club and establishment to be around for that long deserves praise and credit. I’m ever so proud to be the manager of this club and we want to make the 150th year even more special than it is by making sure there’s success on the pitch.
How do you build on your one game at a time mantra?
You don’t change a winning formula. All you do is try and add to it and tweak. Every player and member of staff has analysed and reflected on the journey so far, it’s all about what happens moving forward.
I don’t see any point in getting too far ahead of the next game so the important thing now is the next four or five weeks and getting through pre-season friendlies.
Everyone needs to get through healthy and in a good place, as fit as they can and ready to go.
The most important game on my mind is Livingston. There’s the Champions League qualifiers but Livingston is the most important right now, I need to make sure we have a squad of players firing and hungry to get the first three points of the season.
How is work progressing on transfers?
The recruitment lads, Ross (Wilson) and myself have worked ever so hard to identify the targets we want.
The board and Ross know the players I want to strengthen us and make us better and give us the best chance to be successful next season.
Hopefully we can go and deliver them. We’re really close on one piece and hopefully in the coming days we’ll have an announcement for the fans.
I like to get them excited this time of year , they’ve been patient. There won’t be wholesale signings because the squad is strong and good. We’ve brought some good additions in six months ago so we’re looking for quality rather than quantity at this stage.
