SMART BUYS ARE PAYING OFF

Rangers’ new arrivals already making the right noises ahead of Euro qualifier

HOW much money Rangers spend in the transfer market has always been less important than how they spend it. Previous transfer windows have been a patchy affair. John Lundstam came good after a slow start. The same can’t necessarily be said of Juninho Bacuna, Fashion Sakala, Nnamdi Ofoborh, Amad Diallo or Aaron Ramsey.

The early signs on Antonio Colak, Malik Tillman, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Ben Davies look promising.

The litmus test will be qualification for the Champions League. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV Eindhoven arrive in Glasgow for the first leg of a play-off tie worth over £30million to the winners.

And, on the face of things, a 4-0 win over St Johnstone looked the perfect preparation. In reality, a training game in the sun prepared the Scottish Cup holders for PSV in much the same way as a whizz round the Isle of Cumbrae might prepare a cyclist for the Tour de France.

On the plus side, a third strike in three games provided further evidence that £1.8m Croat Colak knows the way to goal. Tillman’s impressive form continued with a second headed goal in two games. Following a lively and energetic presence against Union SaintGilloise, Tom Lawrence claimed his first goal for the club. And central defender Davies came through his first Ibrox start unscathed and untroubled.

Forging a new central defensive partnership with Connor Goldson, the £4m signing from Liverpool was largely untested. In for the unwell James Sands, that’s unlikely to be the case should he retain his place for the visit of PSV.

‘I think that’s the main thing here, concentration,’ he acknowledged. ‘There might be games where you don’t have a lot to do but it could be the most important thing in the game.

‘It is something Connor is really good at and I’m sure if I play with him, he’ll keep me right and I’ll try to keep him right as well.

‘I’ve got quite a bit of experience and I know how crucial the transitions and other parts of the game are. So yeah, I’m looking to learn off Connor and the other defenders.

‘I feel like I’ll grow into the team, so I’m not going to come in and start shouting and bawling.’

There were some mild grounds for alarm when St Johnstone blew a glorious chance to open the scoring after 18 minutes. Attacking a Jamie Murphy cross, striker Theo Bair missed the ball and tumbled to the ground — but gained a second opportunity when the ball broke off Borna Barisic and fell for the Canada striker to thump wide from six yards. He should have scored.

Water breaks in the Scottish Premiership are as rare as snow in the Sahara. Suitably refreshed following a break for hydration midway through the opening half, Rangers claimed the lead after 32 minutes when on-loan Bayern Munich midfielder Tillman produced a replica of his midweek goal against Union Saint-Gilloise.

Attacking a James Tavernier cross towards the back post, he rose highest to bullet a header into the roof of the net off the underside of the bar.

In the second half, Rangers ran over the top of a tiring Saints side. Matondo almost made it 2-0 on 51 minutes when he received the ball on the left from Lundstram, cut on to his right foot and cracked an unstoppable shot against the crossbar. It’s still shaking now. Any hope of a St Johnstone revival disappeared after 62 minutes. The damage was entirely self-inflicted. Inexplicably, Drey Wright dallied on the ball in his own area. Tackled and dispossessed by Matondo, a sliding tackle played the ball into the path of the lurking Colak on the penalty spot. The striker spun and thumped low into the net. Colak remains a strange one. Objectively, his all-round game offers less to the team than

Alfredo Morelos. Yet it’s hard to argue with a run of three goals in three games. But for a dubious offside against Livingston, he’d already be on four from four. As St Johnstone lost heart and hydration, Rangers turned up the heat in the final stages. The third goal came with ten minutes to play. Matondo raced on to a piercing Ryan Jack through ball. Dragged wide, the winger kept his composure to cut the ball back into the path of substitute Scott Arfield to slide home. Arfield turned provider three minutes later, teeing up Lawrence to volley in the fourth as St Johnstone collapsed. Satisfied with an untroubled first Ibrox start, Davies could be back out of the team against PSV. A £4m investment suggests he will be the long-term solution in central defence. In the short term, he could be forced

to make way for a recovered Sands. Ryan Kent, missing against St Johnstone, will also be fit for the visit of the Dutch side.

‘I think I’ve had eight or nine clubs,’ said Davies. ‘So to come up here and have a fresh start and get a contract where I can settle, move the family up and hopefully be part of something special is important.

‘I want to make this my home for the next few years. It’s been really good so far and everyone has made it really easy to settle in.

‘When you go to a new club the first two, three or four weeks is about taking it day by day.

‘Each day it gets a bit easier and you learn a bit more about your team-mates and the area. I’m a few weeks in now and it is getting to feel a lot more normal.

‘I went to the two friendlies against Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham to watch and there were thousands and thousands of fans there. That was an eye-opener to start with and then at the game at Livingston I think we had three stands for an away game — and I’ve never seen that before.

‘That is probably quite normal up here, so the support is incredible and I can see that already.

‘It means a lot to everyone and it’s a pleasure to be here.’