Sport

Rangers chairman Dave King hoping for younger signings by Pedro Caixinha

Rangers chairman Dave King has stated that manager Pedro Caixinha will have a major say in their level of investment in the squad this summer.

The club gave Mark Warburton more money than originally planned following their promotion to the Ladbrokes Premiership but King has called for a more youthful edge to their recruitment this year after a brief and unhappy stay for Joey Barton proved the low point of their dealings.

King, who recently claimed he and his allies had invested £18million, says Caixinha is still assessing his squad and what improvements he feels he needs to make, following only one game in charge.

Following his first meeting with the Portuguese coach this week, South Africa-based King told Rangers TV: "They (Rangers' interview panel) indicated to him and I confirmed again that clearly we will have to continue to invest in the squad.

"It's something that we're anticipating doing and what Pedro is now going to come in and do between now and the end of the season is look at what he has got within the squad and see how comfortable he is and put his own player plan together.

"We're encouraging him to try and do any business sooner rather than later because we're all very sensitive to the fact that Europa League qualifiers are coming up very early, in June."

As well as Barton, Rangers brought in 30-somethings Niko Kranjcar, Matt Gilks and Clint Hill last summer while spending about £1.8million on 28-year-old Joe Garner, and King expects Caixinha to revert to signing younger players.

"The only departure from the policy was when Mark probably brought in some more more senior, more expensive players that were slightly different from what we had spoken about and what he had initially put to the club," he said.

"That was a departure, the Joey Barton signing and some of the later signings.

"But it could have worked out okay. It's difficult to say because it didn't work out, that it was a mistake. But certainly I would like to see us go back to the idea that, if we are going to be spending big money on players, we need to get younger players who can do well and hopefully create value for the club at a later stage."

Caixinha could now embark on his first transfer spree without a director of football position being filled.

"Initially when we were looking at the changes, ideally we'd have liked that done before the manager," King said.

"But now that we have the manager in place and now that he is working through that player plan in any event, there's less pressure on an immediate plan for a director of football.

"We want to make sure that we get the right person and it certainly won't be rushed."

Meanwhile, King claimed a compromise deal with Sports Direct could be agreed before a new-season kit launch, despite Rangers' lawyers facing Mike Ashley's firm this week in the High Court in London, where it was revealed that the club gets seven pence in the pound from retail purchases.

"While it is far from being a certainty I'm, let's say, cautiously optimistic that we get to that point," he added.

King confirmed legal action could follow in relation to Warburton's recent move to Nottingham Forest, although the former Rangers boss denied resigning as Ibrox boss, as the club claimed.