Those of a Glasgow Rangers persuasion were getting sick of the sight of new arrivals from south of the border, with far too many having underwhelmed in recent years.

Be it Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence or Joe Rothwell, among plenty others, raiding the Premier League or Championship has backfired time and again of late at Ibrox.

There were no doubt fears that Dan Neil, cast aside by Sunderland, would suffer a similar fate, yet the 24-year-old has firmly put those concerns to rest following Sunday's dominant, match-winning display in the derby.

From the woes of Rothwell and co in the midfield last season, has there been a bigger upgrade elsewhere in the Gers squad?

Why Neil has already proved he isn't another Rothwell

The comparison was an easy one to make, with Neil, like Rothwell before him, having been signed on a free transfer, while handed the number six shirt in Glasgow.

Like Rothwell too, while Neil had been on the books at a Premier League club, his best work had arguably come in the Championship previously, captaining the Black Cats to promotion in 2024/25.

It was no surprise then that the arrival of the Englishman had alarm bells ringing, with Rothwell previously lasting mere months at Ibrox, before he was on his way back to the Championship to join Sheffield United.

The issue with the experienced midfielder was that he felt like something of a steady-eddie, having also been almost doomed to fail from the start after being viewed as Russell Martin's man, amid their prior working relationship at Southampton.

As the weekend showcased, however, Neil has plenty more to his game than mere safe, shuttling passes, however, curling home in sumptuous style on two occasions to steer Derek McInnes' men to a richly deserved win.

The man with the armband on the day, Neil really did dictate proceedings, notably bursting forward from inside his own half just before the hour mark to lay the ball off to Kevin Kelsy, in the build-up to a chance for Kim Min-su.

With Nicolas Raskin now alongside him, the Gers' midfield unit finally looks settled after so much upheaval over the last 12 months or so. That's also true of the defensive unit.

Why £3m star has been the biggest upgrade of Rangers' summer signings

There were problems all across the pitch as Danny Rohl's title bid collapsed at the end of last season, with the post-split form having been simply disastrous after so much good work before that under the German.

The key issue appeared to be the woes of the backline, having shipped at least two goals in each of the final seven Premiership games of the campaign, a dismal record for a team chasing the title.

Thankfully, there's been almost wholesale change in that area this summer, with the one constant having been towering centre-back, Emmanuel Fernandez.

The Nigerian international has his issues still, but he's certainly been aided by the presence of Olwethu Makhanya alongside him, the 22-year-old looking immense again at the weekend.

Signed for a fee of around £3m from MLS side Philadelphia Union, the South African looks like a real bargain on current evidence, having slotted in so smoothly of late.

Eased in slowly initially, the difference to last term has been stark with Makhanya in the mix, the young centre-back looking levels above the hapless Nasser Djiga in that role.

From the woes of last season, in which Djiga and co were shipping goals for fun in the run-in, the Gers are far more resolute defensively, with the new man central to that.

Indeed, his three outings in European qualifying saw the Light Blues concede just two goals, while he has helped to keep three clean sheets from his five Premiership starts, conceding just twice in that time.

In League Cup action too, the 5-1 win over St Mirren was followed by Sunday's thumping 3-0 win over Celtic, with Makhanya and co barely giving the likes of Kasper Hogh a sniff on the day.

Compare that to the performance of the man he has inherited the number 24 shirt from, and it really is night and day, with Djiga having been all at sea in the May meeting, losing the ball 11 times from his 73 touches in that 3-1 defeat.

The on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers man had endured a desperately poor start to his Gers career too, not least in the debacle against Club Brugge, with it having been far more positive for Makhanya, it has to be said.

In the view of McInnes, the £3m man has been "first-class" and almost "faultless" so far in Glasgow, finally bringing some stability to a previously unsettled backline.

While moving from the likes of Rothwell to Neil looks like a masterstroke in midfield, upgrading on Djiga and John Souttar with the signing of Makhanya might prove even more decisive.