At no other club in the world does α bad result end with α root to branch review of everything that is wrong, however, that is exactly what happens with Rangers, where standards are everything.
What was shaping up to be α quiet international break has seen vice-chairman John Bennett fill the void by answering questions on Rangers TV that one can only assume the hierarchy thinks that fans want to hear the answers to.
One of the biggest talking points recently has been about the lack of additional new faces when we qualified for the Champions League, after all, there was still plenty of time following our win over PSV Eindhoven and we all knew where we needed to strengthen.
In the interview, Bennett revealed, via Football Scotland, that it wasn’t quite as simple as that:
“We missed a trick, we could’ve come out after the PSV game and said: ‘Let’s celebrate, we’re back… but this is what it really means.’ There was something of a vacuum and that vacuum was filled. Whether it was agenda-driven or not, I’m not particularly interested in that.
“It was filled with ‘where’s the money gone?’ Rangers is not going to be sat on piles and piles of cash as this year progresses. Rangers continues to invest on and off the pitch and we will continue to invest because the bar only rises. I accept some of the criticism about communication. I accept that.
“That is not the lone responsibility of people in communication, we as a board own it. I say it in my day job, own it, all of us own it. We’re side by side, aligned. If you’re going to preach that stuff, live that stuff. Own it.”
Communication between the club and the fans is almost at an all time low and, on top of ticketing issues, it is probably the most frustrating aspect of being α supporter.
Fans tend to be more accepting – even if just grudgingly – if they are given the facts from the club rather than having to make do with rumours and half stories.
If, for example, the club said that qualifying for the Champions League would allow for investment in Ibrox and the training centre or to cover costs from the previous year, then we would be more realistic with our expectations but, when the chief executive and marketing director are talking about record breaking revenues α long time before we sold Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey and then beat PSV Eindhoven, then it’s easy to see why we might get excited.
As always though, talk is cheap, and the board needs to start delivering on areas that have been highlighted as being in need for development in the past, they have α lot of credit in the bank but this will only last for so long if fans think that they are having the wool pulled over their eyes.