The former Gers player wrote in his column for The Scottish Daily Mail on 14 August (page 142) that there’s “no doubt” that losing Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey have weakened the squad.

Aribo joined Southampton while Bassey moved to Ajax on a club-record transfer fee.

“Rangers have lost two starters from the team that got to Seville and there’s no doubt the sales of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo has weakened them in those areas,” wrote McInnes for The Scottish Mail.

“Bassey came on so much last year — that’s why there was so much interest in him and that’s why Ajax paid the big fee.

“Aribo was always in the Rangers team for the big games.

“It’s too early to judge the new arrivals but the signs from Tom Lawrence and Malik Tillman are good.”

Time will tell

There’s really no doubt that losing both Aribo and Bassey in the summer is a blow for the club.

However, they both have moved on a big transfer fee, and it reflects how well they have done for the club in the past 12-18 months.

At the same time, the Bears have done extremely well to bolster their squad and added depth in almost every position. They have signed as many as seven new players.

Bassey was outstanding last season, and it’s up to the new players now to step in and fill the void.

John Souttar has joined on a free transfer, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst has signed Ben Davies from Liverpool.

In midfield, Malik Tillman could prove to be a masterstroke signing for the club. The youngster who joined on loan from Bayern Munich has already made a strong impact.

Overall, there’s enough quality in the side, despite losing two key players.

The Ibrox legend wrote in his column for The Daily Record on August 14 that there is “inevitability” about the result at Ibrox, suggesting that the Bears will find a way to win at home.

Miller is confident that Rangers can score away from home as well, and that they’ll win by a margin of 1-0 or 2-0.

“Everything that’s been put in place since Steven Gerrard was appointed has been geared up to this opportunity. They’re on the verge, just on the other side of the door, waiting for it to open. They’ve got two games to get past and I really fancy them against PSV,” wrote Miller for The Daily Record.

“If they can take a lead into the second leg in Eindhoven, Rangers will believe they can score in Holland. They’ve got players who can hurt you on the counter attack with their pace. Look at Dortmund, Moscow, Porto in recent seasons. This team can score goals away from home.

“At Ibrox, it doesn’t matter who’s visiting – there’s an inevitability about what’s going to happen. That’s a brilliant place to be in for Rangers and the supporters.

“There’s a belief there that they’ll get the job done on their own patch and I reckon they’ll win 1-0 or 2-0. What I like about this team, particularly under Giovanni, is that they learn lessons.”

Confident

Rangers have made a strong start to the season, and the victory over Union Saint-Gilliose must have given them a lot of belief.

Miller is impressed by the fact that Van Bronckhorst’s side are quick learners, and they tend to learn from their mistakes. In the first leg, away from home, the Bears produced an ordinary performance and deservedly got beaten.

However, in the second leg, they came out with a proper game plan and tore them apart to win 3-2 on aggregate.

There’s no reason to believe why Rangers cannot win against PSV Eindhoven in the next game.

The Bears have beaten teams like Borussia Dortmund and Porto last season to reach the Europa League final, and they are more than capable of beating the Dutch giants.

The first leg is crucial. Rangers will need to take a handsome lead going into the second leg. The players are more experienced now, and they will be confident of getting a positive result away from home as well.

The English attacker’s absence from the matchday squad in the 4-0 win on Saturday led to worries among the Gers faithful, but their fears have now been allayed.

However, he was only rested and this will not affect his presence in the game against PSV Eindhoven next week.

Kent rested. Fine for Tuesday according to club.

— Heart & Hand Podcast (@ibroxrocks) August 13, 2022

Via Twitter, Heart and Hand, the club’s official media partner, wrote, “Kent rested. Fine for Tuesday according to club.”

Good news

Kent is an X-Factor player who can turn the game around in the blink of an eye.

His raw pace coupled with his ability to run at defences makes things extremely difficult for defenders to deal.

He’s also got the ability to find the back of the net and he’s all set to start against the Dutch side on Tuesday.

It does make sense to give him a break for this one as he’s only returning from an injury and overworking him may aggravate it.

Kent is one of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s most talented players so it makes sense for him to use him sparingly and play him in games where his electricity may be needed to turn things around.

Hopefully, Gers used the game on Saturday to get their legs fresh for this contest as they cannot afford to take a team of PSV’s calibre lightly.