Steven Gerrard made Rangers serious contenders for the Scottish Premiership in his maiden campaign as a manager, but the Gers still fell some way shy of Glasgow rivals Celtic, as the Hoops stormed to an eighth consecutive league title.
A nine-point margin is still a mountain for the Ibrox natives to climb, but they have been helped somewhat by their bitter rivals losing key men in Oliver Burke, Filip Benkovic, and Dedryck Boyata, and have so far not replaced the trio.
Gerrard, in contrast, has already brought five players to Ibrox, but the former Liverpool captain has not used a Foxy Bingo promo code to boost his stake in the market. Instead, the 39-year-old has rolled the dice to pull of shrewd moves in the market, in the hope that free agents can bring a title back to Ibrox for the first time since 2011.
Acquiring a gifted 21-year-old in Jake Hastie for nothing more than compensation for his development could prove to be the masterstroke of the entire summer, as the soon-to-be former Motherwell man is a player who will undoubtedly give Rangers a lift when the new campaign engages.
The Wells product may have been a relatively unheard of name before the turn of the year, but once he was offered a chance at Fir Park, he took it with both hands and left his days in the Championship far behind.
Hastie has proven to be a threat on both wings in just five months of top-flight football, with dazzling footwork and a willingness to take on defenders to carve out a chance for himself and his teammates. Twelve Premiership appearances, six goals, an assist and an U21 international debut, Hastie has the hallmarks of someone who will give Celtic a run for their money when the two sides meet in the first Old Firm Derby of the term.
The roll of the dice did not stop with Hastie, though, as Gerrard has also convinced Heart of Midlothian product Greg Stewart that he should move to Glasgow and link up with his Gers squad having spent the past season on loan with Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, with whom he was a mainstay of either side and found himself involved in 20 goals across all competitions.
Time will tell if Gerrard’s shrewd approach to the market has what it takes to end Celtic’s dominance, but the signs are promising.