Glasgow Rangers were not willing to sit on their hands and go again with the same squad or management team at Ibrox after ending the 2024/25 campaign without a single trophy.
The Light Blues appointed Russell Martin to be their new head coach and brought in 12 new recruits to bolster the Rangers playing squad for the current season.
It has not been an ideal start to the campaign, though, as they have failed to win any of their first four matches in the Scottish Premiership under their new manager.
Joe Rothwell is one of the new signings who has failed to hit the ground running, as he was subbed off at half-time in the 6-0 loss to Club Brugge and dropped down to the bench for the clash with Celtic on Sunday.
Joe Rothwell's early struggles at Rangers
The central midfielder was signed from Bournemouth on a permanent deal this summer with a view to him playing in the number six position in Martin’s 4-3-3 system.
At the age of 30, Rothwell is an experienced player who was signed to make an instant impact at Ibrox. He is not a young and promising player who needs time to develop and grow.
That is why his early struggles, compounded by being dropped for the Celtic game after starting the first three league matches, are a concern for the Scottish giants.
First Impressions
What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.
Rothwell needs to turn things around and show the supporters that he can impact and influence games in the number six role week-in-week-out, because, at the moment, he looks like a downgrade on John Lundstram, who left the club last year.
Rangers had a howler with John Lundstram
In a similar move to the one that brought Rothwell to Ibrox this year, Lundstram signed for the Gers on a free transfer from Sheffield United in the summer of 2021, and went on to enjoy a successful spell in Scotland.
Former Rangers defender Maurice Ross described the English midfielder as the “cornerstone” of the team and claimed that he “was strolling about the pitch like Graeme Souness” in 2022.
The former Blades ace went on to score 11 goals, including the one against Borussia Dortmund above, in 153 matches for the club in all competitions, per Transfemarkt.
Appearances
34
4
Long passes per game
5.6
1.3
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.5
2.0
Clearances per game
1.0
0.0
Duels won per game
3.8
2.5
Aerial duel success rate
55%
33%
As you can see in the table above, Lundstram produced more impressive performances in his last season at Rangers in the Premiership than Rothwell has managed in the current campaign.
Despite that, Philippe Clement allowed the English central midfielder to leave the club at the end of his contract in the summer of 2024, and signed Connor Barron on a free transfer from Aberdeen.
Ultimately, that decision has turned out to be a howler for Rangers and Clement because Martin has swooped to sign Rothwell 12 months later to replace Barron as a number six.
On top of that, Rothwell still appears to be a downgrade on Lundstram, which means that the Light Blues have yet to successfully replace the star who was once compared to Souness, despite them allowing him to leave for nothing last year.