Mark Hateley has urged the Rangers board to fix the disconnect between the club and its disgruntled fanbase by being far more open with them.
The Ibrox legend and former club ambassador has watched in dismay as the decision by Rangers to take part in the Sydney Cup - and the perception that the champions are a sideshow to Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou’s return to Australia - has driven a wedge between the support and the hierarchy.
And while he believes Gio van Bronckhorst ’s players must blank out the noise and focus on retaining the title - and beat Dundee in Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash at Dens Park - Hateley admits he has sympathy with the supporters who feel let down.
The former Gers and England striker said: “You have got a 150-year-old football club and the biggest partner ever, you can call them a sponsor or a partner, is the supporters.
“They are why the club is 150 years old. Generation after generation have invested in Rangers Football Club.
“For me, in any walk of life or any business, you have got to know the people you are working with and the people who are supporting you in different parts of the organisation. That is no different.
“The fans are obviously disgruntled on certain situations and things that have happened just recently, probably the way it has been released.
“That would annoy football fans because it is their football club. There is the disengaging because obviously the fans haven’t known about it. You have to have a line of communication into your support or they will turn on the board.
“I have been involved at every level of the game from player to coach to manager and you have to engage with everybody within the football club.
“It’s not rocket science. You have to understand people.
“It’s a touchy subject, but if everything had been done slightly differently...it is what it is. For me, looking in from the outside, it has not been done properly.
“A professional footballer should be getting on with his job and everything happening in the background, you shouldn’t be focusing on that. You should be thinking of the next game, then the one after that and the one after that.”
