Rangers moved quickly to make Lawrence Shankland their first summer signing in a statement of intent, but Colin Hendry says the other end of the pitch should be a priority.
The Ibrox side lost four of their five post-split matches to collapse out of the title race, conceding 14 goals as they did it. The centre-back pairing of Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez had improved mid-season but played their part in that collapse.
Former title winner Hendry watched them play Motherwell, for whom his son Callum plays. He had expected to see a tightening up at the back after conceding three to Falkirk in the game before, but then watched as they went 2-0 down.
And he said: “When Rangers went to Falkirk and beat them 6-3, I thought 'there's a few goals being conceded there'. But we were powering the goals in up front. Then the next game, of course, we're at home to Motherwell. My son Callum came off the bench for Motherwell in that game and he told me their manager had pointed out that Rangers were shifting goals.
“Obviously, the acid test for Motherwell was not to concede themselves because Rangers had scored six the game before. So for Motherwell to go 2-0 up, I thought, ‘wow’. I really had thought there was a resurgence happening right when we needed it at Rangers, heading into the split.
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“I’ve always believed as a defender, you do get your basics right and anything else is a big plus. Obviously, last season we saw a side like Motherwell being a breath of fresh air with the way they played.
“But I just think that with Rangers for a period, they were a little bit in and out with their style of play, especially when the new manager took over. He had to find players that were comfy doing some things in relation to others. And I still think that's a work in progress.”
There is perhaps not the same pride in keeping clean sheets as there used to be, and Hendry added: “Let me put it this way, I would have been upset to concede three against Falkirk. Conceding three is A LOT.
"In the teams I played for, if we kept a clean sheet, we were happy. I played with a lot of top strikers - and certainly one who was world class in Alan Shearer - so we always felt if we kept a clean sheet, we had a great chance of winning.
“I’m not sure if I could say this team doesn’t pride itself in clean sheets but I can see issues in the backline, little things that need tweaked. As I said, it's a work in progress.”
* Hendry was launching the Refugee World Cup Scotland 2026 tournament on Sunday 21 st June at Toryglen Regional Football Centre. The Wheatley Group and Glasgow Life sponsored event celebrates the diversity of communities in Scotland through football.
