Dave King admits he's '˜not happy' with Rangers' summer recruitment

Rangers chairman Dave King admits he's not happy with the summer recruitment drive conducted by Pedro Caixinha because it means a new manager will have to inherit a squad built in the image of the previous head coach.

Carlos Pena was the most expensive summer acquisition. Picture: PA

Speaking exclusively to Rangers TV, King says it’s an “awkward time” for the club at the moment as everyone waits in limbo to see who the next manager will be, and whether he’ll wish to make wholesale changes similar to that of his predecessor.

Caixinha signed 11 players for a combined total of around £6-8million, the most expensive of which was Mexican international Carlos Pena at a fee believed to be the region of £2.5million, but it didn’t improve the club’s fortunes on the park.

Carlos Pena was the most expensive summer acquisition. Picture: PA

Despite the lack of value for money, King insists there will be no hesitancy in handing the new manager funds with which to reshape the squad to how he sees fit.

Asked if he was happy with the way the money was spent, he said: “I’m not happy in retrospect in the sense that it was spent in accordance with Pedro’s wishes and Pedro’s requirements.

“He felt very, very strongly that there were a few key positions that he wanted filled with certain key players. He was happy to spend quite a big bit of his budget on these players. That was based on how Pedro saw himself running the team through the next year and how he saw himself closing the gap on Celtic.

Carlos Pena was the most expensive summer acquisition. Picture: PA

“Now Pedro’s not there and we’ve got a squad which was chosen for a certain purpose and might not be what the incoming manager wants. It’s an awkward time for everyone at the club until the new manager comes in. He may be that he likes the look of what he sees, but it might be that he wants to do some rotations.

“We have to make funds available otherwise we won’t become No.1 in Scotland, so we have to do that. That’s a non-negotiable. We’re going to back whoever we appoint, as we did with Pedro.”

King insists there will be funds available in January for the new manager to spend if he feels the team drastically needs restructuring, but did insinuate that it would reduce what was left to spend in the summer.

He added: “In January it’ll depend on how he assess his squad. The short-term answer would be yes, but it’s a decision he’s going to have to make: if he’d rather work with what he’s got for a while and go big in the summer, or whether he thinks he’d like to accelerate that and do some of it in January.

“That’s going to be a combination of two things: one, what his personal feelings are about what he’s got in the squad; two, whether he believes those that are available in January add value long-term, or whether it’s better to wait for the summer.

“The attitude is to back him, whether it’s in the summer or January.”