Glasgow Rangers finally appear to be on the right track under Derek McInnes after they endured a dismal start to the 2026/27 campaign with the Scottish boss.
The Light Blues failed to qualify for any European competition, losing in their Europa League and Conference League qualifiers, and only picked up one point from their first two matches in the Scottish Premiership.
However, they have won their last six successive matches in all competitions, keeping five clean sheets in that time, and appear to be trending upwards.
It has been little more than a year since Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers completed a takeover of Rangers, and they are still waiting for their first trophy in charge.
Assessing the owners’ first year at Rangers
It is fair to say that the 2025/26 campaign was a season full of learning for Cavenagh and the 49ers at Ibrox, as they made plenty of mistakes and had to learn from their errors.
In the summer of 2025, they appointed Kevin Thelwell as their new sporting director and Russell Martin as the team’s new head coach. By the end of November 2025, Thelwell and Martin had both been sacked.
The signings made during their first window in charge were also a mixed bag, as five of their nine permanent signings do not currently play for Rangers, 12 months later.
Permanent signings made in 49ers first Rangers window | |
|---|---|
Player | Current club |
Youssef Chermiti | Rangers |
Oliver Antman | Anderlecht |
Oscar Cortes | Huracan |
Thelo Aasgaard | Anderlecht |
Bojan Miovski | Rangers |
Emmanuel Fernandez | Rangers |
Djeidi Gassama | Rangers |
Joe Rothwell | Sheffield United |
Lyall Cameron | Dundee United |
On the pitch, results were not good enough over the course of the season. The Gers did not win either domestic cup, were knocked out of the Europa League at the league phase, and finished third in the Premiership.
Their first 12 months in charge of Ibrox were, overall, a disappointment. It was a good learning experience for the board, though, and they appear to have made positive strides forward.
Danny Rohl, who they appointed to replace Martin, was snapped up by RB Salzburg over the summer, though, and the 49ers took a step in the right direction by hiring McInnes.
49ers have found their best Rangers signing of all time
After appointing the Scottish boss from Hearts, the owners decided to back the manager in the transfer market by signing seven new players on permanent deals.
One of those signings is already looking like their best signing of all time at Ibrox, after another monstrous performance in the 1-0 win over Celtic on Sunday.
The Gers went into the summer knowing that they had to improve their defence, and they decided to spend £3m on the signing of central defender Olwethu Makhanya from Philadelphia Union.
Of all the signings made by the 49ers since the start of last season, no one has been able to hit the ground running and establish themselves as a guaranteed starter and reliabily impressive performer as well as Makhanya has.
The 22-year-old star has played every single minute of the last 11 matches in all competitions for the Light Blues, helping his side to keep six clean sheets in those games.
Makhanya started at the heart of the defence alongside Emmanuel Fernandez in the 1-0 win over Celtic at Parkhead on Sunday, and was given an 8/10 player rating by FFC for his display.
Vs Celtic | Olwethu Makhanya |
|---|---|
Minutes | 90 |
Touches | 52 |
Dribble success rate | 100% (2/2) |
Tackle success rate | 100% (1/1) |
Clearances | 5 |
Ball recoveries | 8 |
Duels won | 6/10 |
Aerial duels won | 3/4 |
The South Africa international delivered a dominant display at the back for the Scottish giants by winning three of his four aerial duels and winning 60% of his overall physical contests.
Makhanya’s brilliant defending provided the team with a platform to go and win the match with Ryan Naderi’s goal, as keeping a clean sheet meant that it only took one goal to secure all three points.
Rangers have now kept four clean sheets in six league games with the South African star in their defence, and he has won 52% of his ground duels and 57% of his aerial duels in that time.
Only Ivor Pandur (1,200) has played more minutes than Makhanya (1,020) in all competitions out of all of the club’s summer signings, which illustrates how quickly he has established himself as a key player for McInnes.
At the age of 22, the centre-back is also still a young player who has room to grow and potential to get even better with more time and experience, which is a scary thought given the performances that he is currently delivering.
Therefore, it is hard to look past Makhanya being the best signing made by the 49ers and Cavenagh since their takeover last year, as no other outfield player has been as impactful as quickly as he has been at Ibrox.
Source: www.footballfancast.com
