FAIL to prepare, prepare to fail. As Mark Allen plots and plans Rangers’ future, it is a motto that encapsulates his philosophy and thinking.

In his role as Director of Football, he has the power and the reach to ensure that no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of improvement and success. Like everyone at Ibrox, that is how he will ultimately be judged.

The work to improve the facilities at Ibrox and the Hummel Training Centre will enhance the experience and the environment for Steven Gerrard and his players.

But it is the deals that Allen authorises in the transfer market that will really grab the attention of supporters. Every move will spark debate and deliver praise or criticism.

There is plenty of the former being directed towards Allen, Gerrard and the Light Blues board at present after the moves for Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis were finalised just days into the winter window.

Both will surely make an immediate impact at Ibrox but the wheels had been turning for some time before they eventually put pen-to-paper on their deals from Bournemouth and Southampton respectively.

Gerrard’s latest recruits joined up with the Gers squad at their winter training camp in Tenerife and the sight of the pair in blue was one to behold for the man that played his part in making the moves happen.

“Planning is everything and if you can get ahead of the game, even better,” Allen said. “That is always the intention, to have a plan in mind for where we are going and what we need to get there.

“Jermain and Steven are no exceptions to that, they were very much on the radar and we had an opportune moment to go for it so we did. Fortunately for us it all came together.

“Those players have been on the radar for quite some time. as soon as any window closes, we start planning for the next one.

“It is quite an elongated exercise in terms of what we are looking for, where we need to build, where are the strengths.

“It is then a case of putting together what kind of players can fill that mould and then sitting down and going through it and saying ‘this one, this one, this one’. Then, at the right time, we press the buttons.”

The deals for Defoe and Davis have grabbed the headlines so far this month but they weren’t the first two that Rangers completed during January.

The Gers moved swiftly to conclude pre-contract agreements with Jordan Jones and Glen Kamara as they penned four-year contracts to confirm their departures from Kilmarnock and Dundee respectively.

Both players have been impressive performers in the Premiership and Allen is confident they can now take the next step and improve once again at Ibrox.

“I think that is vitally important and I have said on a number of occasions that you look at various characteristics when you are trying to sign players,” he said. “One of the big ones is whether they can handle Ibrox.

“It is a cauldron, an unbelievable set of supporters, the like of which I have never seen before personally. So you need to make sure they are tried and tested and they understand the league.

“In these two players, we know that because we have watched them over a period of time and we know they can play in the Premiership, and probably higher.

“There are a lot of things, it is not one single thing. You don’t think ‘well, he can do that so he must therefore tick that box’.

“There are a number of things you look at over a period of time. you track them, you watch them play, you do a bit of research yourself in terms of background on and off the pitch.

“Lots of different things go into it that give you a menu to work against. Nobody ticks every box but if you tick a significant number of them there is a high chance that you might be successful. On Jordan and Glen, we have had eyes on them for some time.”

After overhauling the Ibrox squad and bringing 15 players in during the summer, it was always going to be a quieter window second time around for Gerrard.

Every deal is done with the here and now in mind as Rangers look to clinch the Premiership title and Scottish Cup this term.

But there is also a bigger picture to the recruitment process as value, on the park and on the balance sheet, is added to the Light Blues squad.

Allen said: “It is part and parcel of the game, you want to invest with the hope that the investment pays off. It is no different to any business.

“From where our players are now, I would like to think we are accumulating some value in those players and they are being proven to be players that can play at a high level.

“We are very happy with everyone’s performance and you will have picked up from the camp that it is a very tight group of players that like working with each other, being with each other and working with the staff and the management.”

With the core of a squad now in place, it will be a case of evolution not revolution for Rangers going forward as Gerrard constantly strives for improvement.

Gerrard and Allen may have their own vision for the future, but it requires the positive backing of the Ibrox board for those plans to be put in place.

Allen said: “It is not new ground that I am covering here. Every time I have gone [to the board] and said what about, it has been received favourably.

“I can only reiterate that. We have all got to operate within parameters. That is no different to every organisation.

“We all feel that as long as there is proper planning and due diligence, which there is, then it becomes easier to get things done because there is a very clear strategy.”