We'd have gone the extra Lyall and brought in real Scottish core at Ibrox

Dodds says shopping local is smart move by Rangers

- BY FRASER WILSON

BILLY DODDS has revealed adding a Scottish core to Rangers' spine was a key aim of Barry Ferguson & Co if they'd landed the gig at Ibrox permanently.

Recruiting homegrown players was identified as the missing link to bridge the gap on rivals Celtic and end their domestic dominance.

Just one of Russell Martin's nine summer signings is home grown ~ Lyall Cameron from Dundee, whose arrival was teed up as far back as when Philippe Clement was in charge.

But Ferguson and his interim team spent time preparing for the transfer window in their short spell as caretakers.

And they believed adding Scots to the mix could help restore the Old Firm balance.

Dodds was central to that forward thinking and, while the list of their targets will never be made public, the former first-team coach was fully behind the plan to shop local.

Brendan Rodgers has often highlighted Celtic’s tartan nucleus and their domestic leadership qualities as the driving force behind his success in two spells in charge.