Ex-Rangers Star Exposes The Major Problem Holding Club Back: Does The Rebuild Address That? | OneFootball

Rangers need a settled, experienced core of players to genuinely challenge for league titles and major trophies, that is the clear verdict from Cyriel Dessers. The Nigerian striker, who spent two seasons at Ibrox before moving to Panathinaikos for a reported £3.5 million last September, didn’t hold back when looking back on his time in Glasgow. In a recent sit-down, he opened up about the missing pieces that have kept Rangers from winning silverware regularly.

Dessers knows exactly what Rangers are missing

Dessers pointed to the dressing room culture he walked into during his first season, built around figures like Connor Goldson, James Tavernier, Borna Barisic and John Lundstram, and explained how that environment shaped his own performances. He described how natural conversations about football built something meaningful collectively. By contrast, he admitted his second season felt noticeably different, adding that the core had shifted and that sense of daily accountability quietly disappeared with it.

“I think for a team like Rangers to be competing for league titles and trophies, having an experienced core is essential,” he said. You see a lot of clubs with the business model of buying young players, developing them, and selling them. For a lot of clubs, this can work.

“At Rangers, it can also work, but it has to be in balance with that core of experience – guys who understand the league, who’ve been there for a few years, who’ve been through the difficult and good moments, and who can guide those young, talented players.” 

“If you don’t win, people don’t care about development; they don’t care about how much money they get for you when they sell you, it’s only about winning on the Saturday, winning on the Sunday. And this is the number one at Rangers. I like this mentality.

“But it helps if you have the core of players that understand this and can transfer it well to a group in a dressing room, not only in training by putting the bar high, but also on game days to let the group know, ‘Hey, today we cannot drop anything’.”

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 09: Cyriel Dessers of Rangers scores what he thought was a late winner, only for VAR to rule it offside during the Premier League match between Rangers and Dundee at Ibrox Stadium on August 09, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

His point is a strong one. Rangers can certainly bring in young talent to develop and sell, but that model only works when those players are surrounded by veterans who understand what the club demand every single week. Without that foundation, the pressure of playing at Ibrox every Saturday can become too much for younger players who don’t have that guidance. Now that James Tavernier’s exit is official, what Dessers is saying feels even more relevant. Rangers are moving into the summer without many of the leaders who used to set the standard on the training pitch.

Does Rangers’ 2026/27 rebuild actually address what Dessers described?

To be honest, only to an extent. Under new management and with fresh backing, Rangers are busy rebuilding the squad, focusing on midfield depth and a more solid defence. However, the recruitment strategy has leaned toward younger, cheaper signings rather than players who are proven at the highest Premiership level. The gap between the club’s big ambitions and the lack of senior leaders in the dressing room hasn’t really been fixed yet. Dessers might have had his flaws on the pitch, but he seems to have hit the nail on the head regarding this specific issue.