The side league form proved equally fruitless as the side engaged in a faulting start to the season which culminated in a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Old Firm rivals, Celtic. After topping their group and strong showings in the two subsequent rounds, Rangers set up a semi-final against Celtic, however, the side lost 1-0 which ended their participation in the competition. The season got off to a winning start as the side beat Motherwell and Annan Athletic by 2-0 respectively. The side began the season in mid-July as part of the new look League Cup format, paired in a group with Motherwell, Annan Athletic, East Stirlingshire and Stranraer. Warburton would go on to bring in eleven new players in total, including paying a million-pound-plus transfer fee for Englishman Joe Garner which represented the largest investment made by Rangers in a player for over five years since the signing of current club captain Lee Wallace in July 2011. The end of May, post the 2016 Scottish Cup Final, saw Rangers continue preparations for the forthcoming season with the signing of English Championship winner Joey Barton from Burnley, Liverpool youth player Jordan Rossiter, former Tottenham Hotspur play-maker Niko Kranjčar and Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson also disclosed Warburton and Weir were negotiating new contracts, with the pair agreeing one-year extensions on 12 July.
On 30 August, Rangers and Hibernian were issued with notices of complaint by the Scottish FA's compliance officer in relation to the Scottish Cup final.
However, Rangers raised concerns about several factual inaccuracies and contradictions in the report and asked to discuss this with the SFA. The report highlighted security plans were appropriate and that the Scottish Government should consider criminalising pitch invasions. The commission reported on 5 August and concluded the pitch invasion was sparked by the high excitement of Hibernian fans, yet neither club could be blamed.
The fallout from the 2016 Scottish Cup Final fan violence continued with the SFA announcing a former Sheriff principal would chair the independent commission into the disorder. The club's pre-season plans were confirmed in May with the first-team's squad travelling to the United States for a training camp which incorporated a friendly match against United Soccer League side Charleston Battery. Rangers played a total of 49 competitive matches during the 2016–17 season.
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