According to various media reports Wigan Athletic defender Rob Kiernan could turn out to be Mark Warburton’s first signing at Rangers.

Now I can’t tell you much about Kiernan as I haven’t taken much notice of him before now but the move could be a very good indicator in how Warburton plans to do business this summer.

At twenty-four he is relatively young for a central defender and can still improve. Reports on Kiernan suggest he is a fully committed type defender.

Rob has previously worked with Warburton at Watford and Brentford, so the Rangers boss knows exactly what he’s getting. That could be a feature in Warburton’s targets this preseason.

The defender enjoyed a successful loan spell in the English Championship at Birmingham City last term. That again points to Warburton making the most of his knowledge of promising players from that level.

If Rangers manage to capture the Kiernan signing then they will have beaten Birmingham to his signature. Rob was in talks with the Midlands club up until yesterday, when Rangers made their interest known. At first it was reported that Kiernan had failed a medical with Birmingham but that has since been dismissed by the players representatives. Although Rangers fans will still have nightmares about Daniel Prodan!

The centre-back has also had a slight taste of Scottish football during a short loan spell at Kilmarnock in 2010. He helped Killie keep a cleansheet against Celtic (complete with debutant Robbie Keane) in his first outing. After that game his time in Scotland was largely forgettable, I’ve been reliably informed.

A fee of around £200k seems to be the figure being touted for this deal. That would show that Mark Warburton is looking for bargains that can come in and help push Rangers towards a Championship tilt. Then who knows, maybe sell on for a good profit?

Rob Kiernan was captain for the Republic of Ireland under-21’s during his younger days. By signing him up then Warburton (who is Rangers first ever English gaffer) firmly shows all in Scotland that he has no issues signing any player who he thinks will improve the side no matter race or religion. It is a bit annoying that we still see feel its worth noting when Gers sign an Irish player. Obviously Jon Daly helped lead the way during his two year stint, which has just come to an end.

It’s worth pointing out that Danny Wilson is also rumoured to be on his way back to Ibrox. That shows us that Warburton and his assistant Davie Weir are concentrating on getting things right at the back first and giving the Gers a solid defensive footing.

So if you take the Kiernan deal as a yard-stick for what is to come at Rangers this summer then you can expect:

• Young players with plenty of potential and who have already had first team experience.
• Players who have experience working with Warburton and Weir before. Players that they obviously trust.
• Honest and committed players are very welcome.
• Inexpensive deals that represent good value for the club are a priority.
• Any player no matter race or religion will be signed as long as they bring something to the table.

It looks like it will be a busy and interesting summer ahead for the Glasgow giants as Mark Warburton makes his mark at the club.

Rangers fans can only hope that the new faces come in and show they are more committed to the cause than those that let the side down last term.

Posted on June 18th, 2015 by scott
Filed under: Article