Alastair Johnston is confident that the push for an improved transfer model at Rangers will pay long-term dividends.
Philippe Clement, who took over as Gers boss last October, recently spoke about the “crazy situation” where five of his squad are out of contract in the summer.
First-team players Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe will all go at the end of the season unless they are offered and accept new deals at Ibrox.
Clement said: “We want to get transfers in that can have an impact now but also can have added value for the next couple of years on the field and selling them for bigger amounts.”
Nils Koppen officially started as director of football recruitment at Rangers on January 2 following his move from PSV, where he was head of scouting.
With an eye to the future as well as the present, 22-year-old midfielder Mohamed Diomande was signed from Danish side Nordsjaelland, initially on loan, with Rangers having an obligation to buy the Ivory Coast Under-23 international.
The Govan club are reportedly set to bring in 20-year-old Brazilian left-back Jefte, currently on loan at Cypriot side APOEL, from Fluminense and have been strongly linked with 20-year-old Colombia winger Oscar Cortes, who would move on loan from French side Lens with an option to buy.
Johnston, a non-executive director and former chairman, admits the new business model has a “very strong influence” at Ibrox.
He told the PA news agency: “I suppose in the past we haven’t quite had the expertise internally to actually affect that as well as we should.
“We recognise that it is the good and the bad – the better they play for us, the bigger the loss.
“But at the end of the day, if you can keep that business model active and continue to do it, on balance, our team is going to grow and become better in the long term in terms of continuing to appease supporters, who are certainly the number one audience that we have to cater to, to make sure that, every month of every year, Rangers are fielding as good a team as they can.
“Nils is very important to the business strategy and hopefully he’ll work out successfully.
“But we’ve got a slightly different model now, it’s more of a team approach off the field than it was with his predecessor, who was a fairly individual sporting director.
“We’ve got a lot more of teamwork involved, a lot more evaluation and a lot more contributions that he has favoured and embraced, just as the manager has.
“I’m pretty confident that we have the right people in the right places to effectuate that straAlastair Johnsontegy.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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