Rangers Managing Director, Stewart Robertson, has given fans an update on the club’s plans for pre-season training with the Scottish Premiership pencilled in for a start date of August the 1st.
Speaking to Rangers TV (and reported in The Daily Record), Robertson also indicated when the Gers might complete their 2019/20 Europa League campaign with a second leg fixture against Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 still to be played.
When looking forward to the return of football at Ibrox, he said:
“The plans are coming together well.
“There has been a lot of background work, Ross (Wilson) and the team, the medical team, have got really extensive plans in place for when the players come back.
“We’re hoping to be back around June 15, that’s the plan at the moment, there’s been a lot of detailed work behind the scenes.
“We look forward to announcing a couple of pre-season friendlies as well. We obviously need to get the guys up and running again and back into that side of things.”
And when clarifying the current status of last season’s Europa League, the MD hoped that there would be more clarity in the coming weeks:
“We’re still waiting to hear from UEFA when we will be playing the second leg of the Bayer Leverkusen tie.
“Indications are early August but we’ve not had that confirmed, there is a UEFA committee meeting mid-June, we are hoping to hear then.”
Robertson has probably been the busiest man on Rangers payroll over the last few months having been front and centre in the shambles that is the SPFL’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected football in Scotland.
He will also have noted – with interest – the recent rulings in Belgium and France following legal action sought by club sides aggrieved at their respective domestic seasons being called before it had time to be completed.
With the SPFL – again – set to block any form of reconstruction, Hearts and possibly Partick Thistle could be set to pursue similar legal action which will be closely monitored by Rangers given their stance on the individuals charged with running the game.
Gers fans will be looking forward to putting the last few months behind them and with the prospect of friendly fixtures on the horizon and a potential Europa League tie just six weeks away, there is a lot to get excited for in what is sure to be a blockbuster season.