The first target that must be achieved will be one of the most difficult to hit for Cyriel Dessers. He is, though, at Ibrox to take the chances that come along.
The fortunes of the striker will go some way to determining what Rangers do over the course of Michael Beale's first full campaign as a manager.
Dessers has arrived in Glasgow with a £4.5million price tag on his head and plenty of expectation on his shoulders. The investment simply must pay off for Rangers in terms of titles and trophies.
Yet the Nigerian internationalist could go some way to repaying the club for their outlay and Beale for his faith in the opening weeks of his Ibrox career. The Champions League is the ambition that looms large for Dessers and Beale's side.
Rangers will discover their opponents for the third qualifying round later this month. If that tie can be passed without incident, a play-off will stand between Beale and his first crack at some of the biggest names in the game.
It was a task that proved too difficult for Giovanni van Bronckhorst last term. The euphoria of qualification was quickly overshadowed by the harsh reality of group stage football and those that remain at Ibrox will surely still be scarred by the experience.
READ MORE: Cyriel Dessers grateful for Ibrox advice from former Rangers star
For the likes of Dessers, the Champions League offers opportunity and excitement. He is the most expensive of the six signings that Beale has made so far this summer but he is determined to quickly prove his worth at Ibrox and help Rangers bank a significant cheque to get the campaign off and running.
"Yeah, of course," Dessers said when asked if he was excited by the prospect of European football. "It would be a dream to play in Champions League with Rangers. An excellent day.
"Of course, I saw the last couple of games Rangers played in Europe and if you see it here at Ibrox with the stadium lights on in the evening, it's very special and I can't wait to witness it in person.
"There's something moving at this moment in Rangers and I'm happy to become a part of that. So let's hope this is the start of a beautiful season.
"Already in the past month I got tons of messages from the fans, so I want to thank them first of all for the support and the love I got already even before I signed.
"I hope I can give something back with performances on the pitch and together with the team. If I meet them in the city, I will be happy to help them, and they can always ask me anything."
Dessers' only previous experience of the Champions League came two years ago with Genk. A goal in the return leg against Shakhtar Donetsk proved in vain as the Belgians lost both fixtures 2-1 at the third round stage.
The 28-year-old does, however, have plenty of knowledge of the game on the continent. He has played for the likes of Lokeren in Belgium and NAC Breda and Feyenoord in Holland and he scored seven times in 29 appearances for Italian outfit Cremonese last term.
Beale spoke about Dessers' 'alignment' to his style of play when the move was confirmed on Thursday evening. The man himself is confident he can fit into the Beale blueprint this term.
"I think I'm quite a modern striker," Dessers said. "I'm quite complete. I can play the combination. I can make the runs deep, but I think my main threat is scoring goals, so I hope I can bring that to the team and help us to win some games and hopefully also win some trophies.
"I'm at the peak of my career. I have the experience now but I'm still physically very good and I feel very well. So I hope to put that together and then and to become important here.
"But yeah, of course, I got some experience over the last couple of years, also in Europe, last year in Italy, so I hope to bring that to the team and to help the guys and help the team win games."
Rangers had to be patient in their pursuit of Dessers. Eventually, it paid off for all parties and he has signed a four-year deal at Ibrox.
READ MORE: Jack Butland on McGregor, his dressing room voice and Rangers switch
A training camp in Germany will allow him to get acquainted with his new team-mates but the surroundings he will call home in Glasgow have already made quite an impression.
Dessers said: "The training around is really beautiful. And it’s inviting to work hard there and to be professional.
"That's what I was looking for as well. And if you come here and you arrive at the stadium... yeah, I don't think that needs an explanation.
"Yeah, of course [I can't wait to get back playing]. Especially after the last days when it's when it's busy with with making the deal.
"I'm looking forward to just being in the locker room, being on the pitch and just enjoying football."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel