Concerns remain despite flurry of transfer activity at Ibrox

The international break gives Russell Martin some much needed breathing space after a tumultuous first couple of months as Rangers head coach.

After the excruciating defeat by Club Brugge, Martin needed a big performance in the Old Firm derby and while it was far from perfect, his players did show a desire to restore some pride and that maybe, just maybe, there is a way for Martin’s team to improve sufficiently to compete for honours.

Supporters, on the whole, still need to be convinced and only four victories from the four games they have in September will suffice as Martin seeks to turn a shaky start into something more steady if not exhilarating.

If Rangers are to be considered potential trophy contenders then home wins over Hearts in the league, Hibernian in the League Cup and Genk in the Europa League should not be beyond them before ending the month with a visit to Livingston. Slip-ups in any of those games will not be excusable.

Martin has been well backed by the new owners, with the reported £8m spent on Youssef Chermiti a real statement of intent.

I’d be lying if I said I knew anything about the striker beyond the bare statistics from his time at Everton, which don’t make impressive reading, but sporting director Kevin Thelwell has obviously seen enough in the 21-year-old having also brought him to Goodison from Sporting for an even greater fee.

It will be interesting to see if Rangers can accommodate Chermiti and Bojan Miovski in the same team, having shelled out big money on both. Miovski is at least a proven scorer at this level and should be a success.

A bigger concern is the defence, particularly the left-hand side of it.

Deadline-day signing Derek Cornelius addresses the lack of balance at the heart of the back four if he has been signed to partner John Souttar or Nasser Djiga, but there remains a real lack of cover for the inexperienced Jayden Meghoma at full-back, with Max Aarons not having convinced in that role earlier in the season.

All this before we even begin to address the Nicolas Raskin debacle. Maybe I’ll leave that until after the international break.