Alan Brazil: Aberdeen’s clear-out could hand second place next season to Rangers

IS Pedro Caixinha the right man to rebuild Rangers?

I won’t lie – I don’t think he is.

Seven days ago, in this very column, I told Gers fans to forget about overhauling Celtic next season.

I said they’d be doing well to catch Aberdeen.

That should still be their objective as far as I’m concerned.

But events in the past week have made me think reeling in the Dons is a task that Rangers can accomplish.

It’s not so much the players that have signed up at Ibrox, though Ryan Jack is part of the reason for my change of heart.

It’s more the fact that Aberdeen are shedding stars at an alarming rate.

The out-of-contract Niall McGinn has been the headliner up to now, with Gers capture Jack coming in a close second.

Despite his near ever-present status at the back, Ash Taylor’s departure has been shrugged off, along with that of Peter Pawlett.

But if star man Jonny Hayes is snapped up by Celtic, there will be no hiding from the scale of the rebuilding job required at Pittodrie.

Then there’s Derek McInnes.

Del has done an absolutely magnificent job since parking his backside in the Aberdeen hot-seat four years ago.

That’s why he’s on Sunderland’s radar.

But if he leaves this summer on top of the players already lost – or about to be – the Dons will be very badly damaged.

I’m not saying the situation would be irreparable – but it would transform a finely-tuned machine into a fixer-upper.

That’s a real shame.

It’s also symptomatic of Scottish football’s biggest problem – a lack of cash.

Aberdeen have become Celtic’s closest challengers over the last few seasons, and they’ve done it through sheer hard work.

In an ideal world, this summer would be spent building a team even better equipped to take on the Bhoys.

The Dons should be keeping their best players, adding more quality, steeling themselves for European progress, a shot at cup glory, and maybe even a title tilt.

Instead, they are in danger of being dismantled.

You can’t blame guys like McGinn and Hayes for wanting to move on.

At their age – 29 in both cases – this could be their last shot at picking up a big contract.

You can’t blame Derek McInnes for considering Sunderland, either.

Yes, they’ve been relegated into the Championship, but they claimed almost £100-million in prize money at the same time.

McInnes would double his own money – at least – whilst fronting a club with ambitions to bounce straight back to the Premier League.

It’s a step up the ladder for a guy who has probably climbed as high as he can with Aberdeen.

If I were an Aberdeen fan, I’d be gutted at the prospect of my team having its bones picked clean this summer.

Should it go that way, I reckon Rangers will be able to target second place with confidence.

But they still won’t be anywhere near Celtic – and that should be the real measure of progress at Ibrox.