The distressed signals have been flying out of Ibrox in the last few days but there is good news for anxious bears with Barry Ferguson putting a £10m price tag on Hamza Igamane after starting just 15 matches.

Last Saturday newly installed CEO Paddy Stewart met the media messengers with austerity screaming out of every comment as expectations were drummed down without spelling out just how drastic finances are inside the club.

Phil Clement’s future was the main headline on the back of dropping more points away to Hibs and Dundee but it wasn’t too difficult to pick up on the cash problems at the club.

One, possibly two players could arrive this month despite a crisis in central defence while it is clear from the summer activities that a deal can be cut if any club is interested in signing any of Clement’s players.

The media messengers try to overlook it but just £810,00 was raised from the sales of Sam Lammers, Connor Goldson, Todd Cantwell, Robbie McCrorie and Scott Wright.

That information had to be disclosed by the Auditors in the 2024 Annual Report, every club and agent in the game took note with the consequences to be felt this month and in the summer as attempts are made to clear the highly paid deadwood.

Rather than deal with realities Ferguson and others are talking up anyone, everyone. After just three matches Ross McCausland is comparing Clinton Nsiala to Virgil Van Dijk.

In the Daily Record Ferguson is comparing Igamane to Michael Mols, that is the Mols from the first four months of his Rangers career, the guy that scored 48 goals over five years at Ibrox and living off the ‘what if’ moment of being injured against Bayern Munich.

Today, Record readers are treated to:

For those five months, he was without doubt the best striker I ever played with. For me, Mikey could have gone on to become one of the best strikers anywhere in British football. Trust me, he was that good.

So, as much as I don’t want to make any direct comparisons or to stick an unrealistic label on anyone’s back, I have to admit I’m getting Mikey Mols flashbacks every time I see Hamza Igamane pull on a Rangers shirt.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not for one minute saying that Igamane is on the same level as Michael was at his peak. There’s a long, long way for the young man to go before he gets there. But I do see glimpses of Michael every time I watch Igamane play. The wee flicks, the mad things he does – he’ll chest the ball, keep it up four times on his head and then backheel it somebody – and the clinical way he finishes chances in front of goal.

Ferguson added:

For the time being it’s a case of enjoying him for as long as he’s still at the club because he may not be around for all that long. Of course, Rangers supporters won’t want to hear that and I’m in the same boat. When a talent as exciting as this comes around the last thing you think about is letting him go again.

In an ideal world Igamane is the kind of player you build a team around for years and years to come. But there has to be a sense of realism where the club’s current position is concerned. Rangers are a selling club and, like it or not, that means they may soon be made an offer which they can’t possibly turn down.

Just to be clear, I don’t think that’ll happen during the January transfer window. That would be way too soon. In my mind I’d love to see him stay for the rest of this season and maybe another one after that. But, again, it’s important to remain realistic. And the realist inside me expects some big bids to start arriving over the coming summer.

Let’s not forget, this is a kid Rangers signed for £1.5m. If someone out there is prepared to pay around £10m – or maybe even more than that – for him within 12 months, then that’s exactly the model Rangers need.

Igamane and his agents will be interested to know that players like Jack Butland, James Tavernier, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo are all being paid over £30,000 a week which probably equates to Igamane’s monthly pay.

While Ferguson, McCausland and others try to generate transfer interest it is left to Clement to serve up cold, hard reality in his twice weekly media conferences

1 minute 30 seconds

QUESTION: Is it something that you feel you need to do, maybe move some bodies out before bringing some in or just at the same time?

CLEMENT: It is something that will be necessary for the club, that is a club decision and like it was the same decisions in the summer (when five under contract players were moved on for a combined fee of £810,000). That is the situation for the moment, in the club to do things here.

It has already been made public that Kieran Dowell and Matondo are ‘free’ to go, finding clubs to match their salaries won’t be easy! Losing anyone getting paid over £20,000 a week would be welcomed by the accountants but like Dowell and Matondo it is unlikely that they will find their wages being matched elsewhere in January.

While Ferguson and others deflect and deny, Stewart and Koppen are desperately trying to get bodies off the pay-roll with a summer style clear out the target whatever the consequences on Clement’s exciting young team.

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BBC troll Tom English taken apart again by Celtic fans

If Celtic drop points or have any kind of set-back you can be sure that Tom English will be on the case, using his favourite medium of Twitter.

The Chief Sports Writer at BBC Scotland reacts like an excited teenager at anything resembling bad news for Celtic, two years ago he couldn’t resist criticising the club for expressing their condolences following the sudden death of Shane Warne.

That shameful episode forced the BBC to apologise for the actions of their egg-chasing expert, English continues to play with fire with any kind of repeat of the Warne incident likely to result in disciplinary action.

Last night’s 3-3 draw at Dundee led to the inevitable dog-whistle tweet from English, when you have never got close to a decent story in your career Twitter offers the attention that you crave.

Still 16 points clear tom. Don’t lose any sleep over it kid.
— Joseph 🇮🇪 (@sloanybhoy7) January 14, 2025

After driving circulation at Scotland on Sunday off a cliff, English was standing by Craig Whyte long after the Daily Record had given up on their favourite billionaire, there was a warm welcome waiting at BBC Scotland.

Alongside Kenny Macintyre, Alasdair Lamont, Steven Thompson and Jonathan Sutherland the arrival of English ticked the diversity box for the state broadcaster.

An Irish accent that disliked Celtic and Neil Lennon was the perfect appointment, almost instantly he was affectionately known as House Paddy by his colleagues. Apparently he also knows about rugby but since no-one in Scotland cares for that sport anyone can pass them self of as an expert with little prospect of being caught out.

One season of light in among almost a decade of Celtic success has almost broken the big man from Limerick, he has backed every Revolution! Out of Ibrox and quickly made to look foolish as reality returns.

After placing his faith in Micky Beale in early 2023 English failed to learn any lessons when he scrambled on board the Clement Express.

Previewing the Moral Victory on April 7 English almost had his pom-poms out as he told the BBC website:

Under Philippe Clement, Rangers have dropped only eight points in 22 games. Expecting them to drop five or six in what would be six remaining games is a bit of a stretch.

Not really Tom, they took two points from their next three and finished the season eight points behind the champions.

Clement has won 19 of 22 league games since becoming manager in October. A victory on Sunday would mean that, in the entire history of the Ibrox club, only Bill Struth (21) and David White (22) will have won 20 league games in fewer matches.

They’re seven points better off in 2024 than Celtic. In Clement, we are seeing the kind of sure touch that has been, for so long, the exclusive preserve of the manager from across town.

In his short time, Clement has shown the restorative powers of Ange Postecoglou when he took over after the 10-in-a-row-that-never-was and the feelgood energy of Rodgers in his first coming, after the flatlining of Ronny Deila’s final season.

The Belgian has brought hope when it was previously thin on the ground. He has revived players who were looking tired and added vitality with some astute new signings.

We all know how that hope turned into a living nightmare, nine months on Clement is further away than ever from Celtic, much like English and his first worthwhile news story.

The astute new signings were Oscar Cortes, Fabio Silva and Mohamed Diomande.

Without doubt it is the hope that kills them, penning his tribute to Brendan Rodgers for winning Celtic’s 55th title in the springtime will be an especially painful piece for English as was Celtic’s League Cup Final win in December, surpassing the tally of the self declared Most Successful Club in the World.

Well don’t get too excited Thomas. Have a wee weathers original n tuck yourself up with a wee jane Austin novel.
— Joseph 🇮🇪 (@sloanybhoy7) January 14, 2025

Why mention £50m and a penalty soup boy. You ragin we never got beat
— monthehoops (@monthehoops10) January 14, 2025

Your no seriously expecting Tam to answer this are you ???? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
— ThommyJ12 (@J12Thommy) January 15, 2025

Tom wouldn’t know investigated journalism if it jumped up and bit him on the arse!
— Pablo (@Pablo8159796057) January 15, 2025

AHH “£50m squad” and “Penalty Celtic”..couple of Dog and Bear whistles, Tom.
Ladle that soup by the litre.
— The_DaViEbH0y_Celtic (@TheDaviebhoyCFC) January 14, 2025

“Rugger boy”! You’re joking , right?
— GeeExDee #ScotlandFirst (@GarryXDee) January 15, 2025

Did well to get a draw. You always need to mention money. No mention of it when we battered Leipzig was there?
— Glasgowbhoy1 (@D7M1888) January 14, 2025