Nils Koppen has bulging Rangers in-tray but he should make this his transfer priority - and Aberdeen fans won't be happy

No doubt Nils Koppen’s to-do list will already be stacked high on his Auchenhowie desk.

Rangers’ new technical director has plenty of work to do, that’s for sure. The list of responsibilities on his job spec should keep the Belgian busy behind the scenes as Philippe Clement fights on the Ibrox front line.

For a start, Koppen must forge a relationship with incoming CEO Patrick Stewart who arrives on December 16. And he somehow has to unravel the mess that’s been left behind the scenes at Rangers and find alignment.

That’s the key here. For far too long, this club has been devoid of a strategy or a plan. But there must be a clear idea that runs from the board, through the CEO, Koppen, the academy and Clement. Without that alignment, the club won’t go anywhere.

It’s difficult when the backdrop is a Jekyll and Hyde first-team who look like world beaters in Europe – and panel beaters in the Premiership. And a manager who somehow gets a tune out of his squad on a Thursday night but regularly hears them booed off the park at the weekend.

But irrespective of that, it’s Koppen’s gig now to get everyone at Ibrox signing from the same hymn sheet. The former PSV scout has landed on his feet getting one of the biggest jobs in the UK. We’ll find out if he’s up to it soon enough.

There’s also the small matter of a January transfer window, of course. Rangers badly-need reinforcements. A centre-back, a holding midfielder and a striker should be the priorities. What funds exist remains to be seen. However, that shouldn’t prevent Koppen from doing his homework.

And here’s one task he should be able to get done with relative ease. On January 1, he ought to be speaking to Aberdeen left-back Jack MacKenzie and getting him tied up on a