Rangers held their Annual General Meeting on Friday evening, and here are the key points covered in the various speeches.
To read the full transcript of both Chairman Dave King and manager Mark Warburton’s AGM speeches to those in attendance please:
Click Here for Davie King
Click Here for Mark Warburton
The key bit for me in Warburton’s speech is that for him he admits we are slightly ahead of schedule given how he thoughts the season would play out with so many playing squad changes over the summer.
‘The close season saw a major overhaul of the first team squad with sixteen players departing the club. Eleven new faces coming into any team takes time to settle, but with an average age of less than 22 a longer period of ‘acclimatisation` may have been expected. However, they have risen to the challenge, they have displayed a work ethic and a level of commitment that has been first class and in addition have demonstrated a very real understanding of the pressures and expectations that come with being a Rangers player. We have had a good start and are proceeding well. We have secured 37 points from a possible 42 and have a goal difference of +31. The team is in good shape and confidence is high, but there will of course be setbacks, it is in truth the only way we learn. However, this club is synonymous with victory and therefore lessons must indeed be learned and everything we do as a football department must be designed to achieve success for Rangers.’
He also confirmed that he was hopeful of adding ‘one or two’ new faces in the January window, but if he took those options and they were available it was obviously important that they fitted into the group in terms of their characters and attitudes, but also importantly they must ‘offer us a quality that we do not current possess’.
Moving on to King, there were obviously a lot of points raised by him such as being under a gagging order by Sports Direct and not being able to comment fully, or at all, on this issue surrounding the club and a whole host of other off pitch related events also figured.
The main message was obviously rebuilding the club back to the top of the Scottish game and getting back into Europe and that’s what I’ll focus mainly on.
As said the full transcript is available above.
‘We will make it back to the very top of the domestic game because both the size and determination of the Rangers support demands and guarantees that. It is a voice that cannot be ignored, especially when we speak as one. It is our unity and absolute belief in Rangers that makes us strong and capable of meeting and dealing with all of the challenges before us and any threats made against us. The Club is recovering from all manner of problems and malicious attacks but Rangers is now irreversibly on the way back. Nothing and no one will prevent us from reaching our goals. Already we have a revitalised staff who can sense that once again Ibrox and Auchenhowie are good places in which to work. Gone are the senses of doom and gloom and the feeling of dread that used to stalk the corridors of our work places. This turnaround in attitude and motivation is a positive force that shouldn`t be underestimated. Everyone, no matter his or her function, is an important member of the Rangers team and deserves respect.’
King went on to say that obviously the most important aspect is on pitch performance as that’s largely all fans care about, and for him he feels fans will have seen an awful lot of improvement already given how we’ve began the campaign.
‘Having said that, I am sure that we all recognise that the most vital part of the business is the team on the pitch. I am certain you will agree that positive progress is also being made on that front and Mark will have more to say on that shortly. We have a much more vibrant team, we have a new and progressive management set up, and already we have seen great improvement on last season. But that must continue because we want and must have promotion this season. The manager, Mark Warburton, and his back-up team are well aware of that and they, too, are committed to getting the Club back to the very top. They have changed the entire look of the team, which has a very different playing style now, but there is still a long way to go and we will continue to improve and strengthen the team over the coming seasons.’
He went on to add.
‘More specifically, it is the Board`s intention to provide the manager with the appropriate level of resources to secure promotion to the Premier League and open the doorway into Europe. A Club the size of this one, with our unrivalled history and titles, must always be open to challenges and willing to test itself against the very best. It is our collective belief that kept Rangers alive. No club has been made to suffer as this one has but we are here today and we will be here tomorrow and every day after that. And because of our belief, Rangers WILL emerge stronger than ever.’
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