Rangers lined up strong opposition for their extensive pre-season programme, Newcastle United, Olympiakos and TSG Hoffenheim among them. None, however, could adequately prepare them for the real thing.
Asked to travel to Ayrshire on an overcast Saturday evening to take on a reinvigorated Kilmarnock side, with four Viaplay Cup ties already behind them, on their plastic pitch, this new-look Rangers unit simply did not look ready.
For months manager Michael Beale has spoken about his desire to finally get in under the Rangers bonnet to make wholesale changes, in the hope that they could mount a more significant challenge to Celtic’s supremacy this season. Beale has not stinted in that reconstruction, bringing in nine new players while waving goodbye to stalwarts such as Alfredo Morelos,
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