Rangers have gone from world beaters to duds in fans’ eyes but it’d be dangerous for Celtic to think that – Chris Sutton

The big kick-off is just a week away but some Rangers fans are already worried their team has gone from being world beaters to duds in the space of the week. But it would be daft if they jumped to conclusions at this stage – and dangerous for Celtic to think likewise.

I’m always wary about reading too much into pre-season campaigns. You don’t always get the full picture and these matches don’t matter a jot once the real thing is up and running, Yet there is no doubt there are still a lot more questions around this Rangers squad Michael Beale has assembled over the summer.

He will admit it himself, the pressure is on after being backed heavily in the transfer market. It was always going to take time though. When you bring in so many new players, there is going to be a period of adjustment, a settling down spell where things don’t happen overnight.

They are the great unknown at the moment. Danilo has come in, and you would think he will be the main focal point given the outlay. Jose Cifuentes is likely to arrive and there will be plenty of midfield options. Others such as Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers have got a level of pedigree but still have a lot to prove.

As far as I was concerned, fans went a bit overboard with Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin last season given they ended up winning nothing, and they still need to produce over a long period. You can chuck Tom Lawrence and Abdallah Sima into the mix, but it remains to be seen if Ianis Hagi and Fashion Sakala are still around for much longer.

Defensively there are concerns. Connor Goldson is huge for Rangers and they’ll need him back sharpish. John Souttar is decent but it remains to be seen if he can do it over a whole season and Ben Davies doesn’t look like his face