The Leadership Group Has Been Replaced With A Team Together

For far too long, Rangers have looked like a team of individuals.

Season after season, we heard about leadership groups. Four or five players were placed into positions of responsibility, expected to provide the experience, character and mentality required to lead the rest of the squad.

Then, when things went wrong, Rangers would often fall back into the same old habits.

Heads would drop. Players would become isolated. The responsibility seemed to fall on the same individuals time and time again.

New players would arrive with the hope that they could change the fortunes of the team, but the underlying problem remained.

The leadership structure remained.

And ultimately, the results remained much the same.

Something had to change.

At the end of last season, Rangers' ownership and management made the decision to completely tear up that established leadership group and rebuild the squad.

But this time, it wasn't simply about replacing one group of players with another.

It was about changing the mentality of the entire squad.

And perhaps, for the first time in a long time, we are beginning to see the benefits.

"I Want a Team Full of Captains"

When Derek McInnes was asked at the beginning of the season who would be Rangers' captain, his response immediately caught the attention.

He said:

"I want a team full of captains in my squad."

That statement tells us a lot about what McInnes wants to create.

He doesn't want four or five players carrying the responsibility for everyone else.

He wants every player to feel responsible.

Every player to have a voice.

Every player to understand what it means to wear the Rangers shirt.

And when you look at the recruitment over the summer, there is a clear pattern.

A number of the players Rangers have brought into the club have experience of being captains or leaders at their previous clubs.

That doesn't happen by accident.

It appears to be part of the direction the club has chosen to take.

This isn't about finding one person to shout louder than everyone else.

It's about building a dressing room where leadership exists throughout the squad.

A Different Kind of Togetherness

Of course, you can talk about team spirit all day.

You can talk about leadership.

You can talk about mentality.

But ultimately, supporters want to see it on the pitch.

And that is where the biggest difference has perhaps been noticeable.

Look at the late winner against St Mirren.

Rangers had to keep fighting until the very last moments of the match to find a way through.

Those are the moments when a team can either fall apart or come together.

This Rangers team came together.

They kept pushing.

They kept fighting.

They kept believing.

And when that winning goal eventually arrived, it felt like the reward for a group of players who were refusing to accept anything other than giving everything they had until the final whistle.

Then came the Old Firm at Ibrox.

And for me, that was another example of what McInnes is trying to build.

It wasn't simply about the result.

It was the reaction of the players.

Every ball mattered.

Every tackle mattered.

Every second ball mattered.

Players were celebrating challenges.

Players were demanding more from one another.

And when one Rangers player found himself surrounded by Celtic players, the reaction was immediate.

The rest of the team came running.

They weren't standing twenty yards away watching.

They weren't waiting for somebody else to deal with it.

They went together.

Even the goalkeeper charged from his goal to get involved and support his teammate.

That tells you something.

That isn't tactics.

That isn't something you can simply coach onto a whiteboard.

That's togetherness.

That's a squad beginning to develop a bond.

It's What Happens Off the Pitch That Matters Too

Perhaps one of the most telling images came away from the football itself.

The Rangers squad were pictured together having coffees on their day off.

Now, some people might look at that and think it's nothing.

Players having a coffee together.

But sometimes it's the little things that tell you the most.

Footballers don't have to spend their free time together.

They can go home.

They can spend time with their families.

They can do their own thing.

So when you see a large group of players choosing to spend time together on a day off, it gives you an insight into the relationships that are developing inside that dressing room.

And that is something Rangers supporters have wanted to see for a long time.

Because the greatest teams aren't simply teams for 90 minutes on a Saturday.

They become teams throughout the week.

They become teams in the dressing room.

They become teams at training.

They become teams when they are travelling.

They become teams when they are sitting together having a coffee.

They become friends.

They become brothers.

And that is when something special can begin to develop.

A Reminder of the Walter Smith Era

For older Rangers supporters, there is something familiar about this.

Think back to the great Rangers teams of the 1990s under Walter Smith.

Those squads weren't simply a collection of talented footballers.

There was a bond.

There was an understanding of what playing for Rangers meant.

There was camaraderie.

There was competition for places, of course, but there was also a sense that everyone was pulling in the same direction.

The players spent time together away from the football.

They knew each other.

They trusted each other.

They fought for each other.

And when one player needed help, there were others willing to step forward.

Derek McInnes was part of that Rangers environment himself.

He experienced what it was like to be inside a dressing room where togetherness and standards were so important.

Perhaps some of those experiences have stayed with him.

Perhaps he understands that building a successful Rangers team isn't simply about signing talented players.

It's about signing the right characters.

It's about creating an environment where players want to fight for the badge and, just as importantly, fight for the man standing beside them.

Leadership Isn't Just About an Armband

That is perhaps the biggest difference between the old system and what McInnes appears to be creating.

Leadership isn't necessarily about who wears the armband.

A captain can lead with his voice.

Another player can lead by putting his body on the line.

Another can lead by demanding higher standards in training.

Another can lead by refusing to give up when the team is losing.

Another can lead by encouraging a younger player.

Another can lead simply by setting the example.

That's what it means to have a team full of captains.

You don't need everyone wearing an armband.

You need everyone taking responsibility.

And that is what appears to be happening.

The responsibility isn't being placed on four or five shoulders anymore.

It is being spread across the entire squad.

There Will Still Be Difficult Moments

Of course, nobody should get carried away.

Football doesn't work like that.

There will be difficult afternoons.

There will be disappointing results.

There will be injuries, mistakes, poor performances and moments when Rangers are under enormous pressure.

The real test of this squad will come when things aren't going their way.

That's when we'll find out just how strong the relationships really are.

Because it is easy to be together when you're winning.

It's much harder when you're losing.

But the early signs are encouraging.

We have already seen players willing to fight for one another.

We've seen them celebrate together.

We've seen them refuse to give up.

We've seen them react when teammates have needed support.

And we've seen them spending time together away from the pitch.

Those things matter.

This Feels Different

There is something different about this Rangers squad.

For years, supporters have watched teams that appeared to have the individual talent but lacked the collective mentality.

We've seen Rangers teams capable of producing excellent football but unable to maintain their togetherness when the pressure became unbearable.

We've seen leadership groups come and go.

We've seen experienced players brought in with the hope that they would provide the answer.

We've seen the same problems return.

So perhaps the biggest change this time isn't simply who Rangers have signed.

It's how Rangers have built the group.

The leadership group has been replaced by a team together.

A group where everyone appears to have responsibility.

A group where players are beginning to look like they genuinely enjoy being around one another.

A group that appears willing to fight for the man beside them.

And perhaps most importantly, a group that is beginning to understand that success at Rangers cannot be achieved by individuals alone.

A Squad of Men to Be Proud Of

There is still a long way to go.

There will be plenty of ups and downs between now and the end of the season.

There will be nights when Rangers have to dig deeper than they have already.

There will be moments when character will be tested.

But finally, there is something developing at Rangers that supporters have been crying out for.

A team.

Not individuals.

Not a handful of players expected to carry everyone else.

Not a dressing room divided into little groups.

A team.

A group of players who appear willing to stand together, fight together and celebrate together.

And perhaps that's exactly what Derek McInnes meant when he said he wanted "a team full of captains."

Because ultimately, being a captain isn't about wearing the armband.

It's about taking responsibility.

It's about standing up when things get difficult.

It's about fighting for your teammate.

It's about understanding the responsibility that comes with wearing that famous blue shirt.

And if this group can maintain that mentality throughout the inevitable challenges ahead, Rangers may finally have something that has been missing for far too long.

Togetherness.

A squad of mates.

A squad of brothers.

A squad willing to fight for one another.

And a squad that Rangers supporters can finally be proud to call a team.

**The leadership group has been replaced.

The individuals have been brought together.

Now, Rangers have a team.**