As Celtic clinched their fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title and remain on course for another domestic treble, former Rangers star Alan Hutton has shared his thoughts on what the Ibrox club needs to do to close the gap to their Glasgow rivals next season.
Appearing on Premier Sports' Scottish Football Social Club, Hutton was asked which members of the current Rangers squad deserve to remain at the club for the upcoming campaign.
His response was immediate and focused on Czech winger Vaclav Cerny, currently on loan from Wolfsburg. "Cerny," Hutton said, before pausing.
Fellow pundit Michael Stewart joked that Hutton’s mic had been muted, prompting laughter from the panel.
Cerny, 27, has been one of the few bright spots for Rangers this season, earning praise for his performances amid an underwhelming overall campaign.
"If you brought in better players to play round about these guys, I think you could get better out of them," Hutton went on to explain after being asked to be realistic with his assessment.
"Cerny, if they can keep a hold of him, has been a standout for most of the season. [Nicolas] Raskin has come on to a real good game, [Mohamed] Diomande possibly, [John] Souttar at the back – I think the back needs a lot of work. [Jack] Butland, I presume, if he gets back to the form that we've seen, but outwith that I'm struggling to be quite honest with you."
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While acknowledging a handful of players showing promise, Hutton expressed concern about others in the squad - even striker Cyriel Dessers, who has netted 24 times across all competitions.
"Dessers' numbers are good, don't get me wrong, but the problem is everything else that goes along with that. I think they could be much better," Hutton added. "So, I think they need more players up the top end of the pitch."
"People like [Nedim] Bajrami, [Oscar] Cortes, [Tom] Lawrence – all these guys will leave," he said, suggesting a major overhaul is required in the attacking areas of the team.
