Rangers brought in nine new players during the last transfer window but ex-Scotland international McFadden feels the Gers still lack depth.

McFadden particularly highlighted Rangers’ defence, which he thinks lacks enough quality options especially when the fixtures start to get more congested when there are Europa League games to account for.

Rangers spent a reported £13million on transfers over the summer, as the board looked to back Michael Beale, but McFadden said there are still gaps in their squad that were not addressed.

Speaking on the Open Goal podcast on 14 September, McFadden stated: “When you look at Rangers and say they are four games into their group of their six, if they’re either qualified for no chance of qualifying, the same players are going to play the last two games with no recovery going into the league games.

“Ideally you could rest or make some changes, but you’ve got no great options there.”

Defence is the problem position

In terms of incoming defenders, Rangers brought Nigeria international Leon Balogun back to the club on a free transfer after his contract expired at Championship side Queens Park Rangers, as well as Dujon Sterling, also on a free, who can provide cover in both full-back positions.

The club were linked with moves for several defensive options that never materialised during the transfer window, including Harry Souttar (brother of Rangers’ John Souttar) from Leicester and Jonathan Panzo from Nottingham Forest, who Beale is reportedly a big fan of.

A couple of key players were omitted from their Europa League squad as Ridvan Yilmaz and Balogun both missed out. This puts them in an even trickier position as the players they do have will simply not be available for those European games.

Questions were raised during the summer about Beale’s ability to build a squad (Daily Record, 24 July), and the concerns only starting to grow amid a poor start that has seen the pressure ramp up on the Englishman.