RANGERS’ decision not to remain at Ibrox while redevelopment work on the Copland Stand is being carried out has been described as “strange” amid growing concerns that supporters’ unhappiness at playing at Hampden is adversely affecting the team.
The Glasgow club have been forced to relocate temporarily due to shipments of materials from Asia being delayed and have hosted their first three “home” matches of the new season at the Mount Florida venue.
However, large sections of the ground have lain empty while they have taken on Motherwell in the William Hill Premiership, Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League qualifying and St Johnstone in the Premier Sports Cup.
Kyiv won 2-0 there last Tuesday night to complete a 3-1 aggregate third qualifying round victory, deny their opponents a place in the new league phase of Europe’s elite club competition and deprive them of a potential £40m pay day.
And at the weekend Hampden was less than half-full as the League Cup champions launched their defence of the trophy they won last season with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over their top flight opponents.
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Bobby Russell, who won every honour in the Scottish game during the 10 years that he spent at the Govan outfit, knows from personal experience that the level of backing which a side receives from the stands can have a direct impact on how they perform on the park.
“In the 10 years that I was at Rangers we were renowned for being a cup team,” said Russell. “I played at Hampden so many times it was unbelievable. I played in League Cup finals and in six Scottish Cup finals on the trot. It was always a great experience.
“But that was before Hampden had been redeveloped. For me, it is now a really poor stadium for spectators. It lacks a bit of atmosphere. It sounds terrible me saying that, but it is just the case.
“So I can understand why Rangers fans are unhappy. Hampden just doesn’t compare to Ibrox for atmosphere and that is impacting on the team a little bit I would say. I think it is all a little bit unfortunate what has happened.
“In the time that I was there, we often struggled to compete in the league and win the title. Our crowds dropped at times and it did affect the team on the park when they did. Fans are like that. You will always get those who are loyal however things are going. But their loyalty can be tested if things are not going well.”
“I think the fans will be back for the league game this Saturday,” he said. “I am not decrying the League Cup, but I don’t think it has the same significance for supporters as the Premiership, the Scottish Cup and Europe. Yes, it is the first leg of a potential treble, but it is not as highly regarded as it was in years gone by.
“I don’t think the fans were making any kind of statement there. I reckon the bottom line was they simply weren’t excited by it. Plus, it wasn’t included on their season tickets. These things can all add up. I don’t think it was a protest as such, I just think it was a combination of things, Hampden, the League Cup. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
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Rangers chairman John Bennett has expressed hope that Philippe Clement’s men will be back at Ibrox after the international break next month if three consignments of steel arrived from the Far East by the third week in August and they have now done so.
But Russell - who brought out his autobiography, from Easterhouse to Eindhoven, earlier this year - is puzzled that Rangers opted to move to Hampden when it emerged the Copland Stand improvements would not be completed in time for the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Glasgow giants redeveloped their stadium in the late 1970s and early 1980s – their response to the 1971 Ibrox disaster, a tragedy which claimed the lives of 66 fans – and built three completely new stands.
Rangers directors, who examined moving through to Murrayfield in Edinburgh on a temporary basis this summer, chose to go to Hampden because it would mean that all of their season ticket holders could attend their matches and would not have to travel to the capital to see their heroes in action.
However, their ex-midfielder admits that, with attendances at their matches so far this term being considerably lower than they usually are and James Tavernier and his team mates struggling to perform at their very best, he finds it unusual that remaining at their own ground was not seriously considered as an option.
“When I was there, we kept on playing at Ibrox when it was being redeveloped,” said Russell. “We only played once at Hampden to accommodate fans and that was an Old Firm game in the May of 1979 (which Rangers won thanks to an Alex MacDonald goal to move one point ahead of their city rivals in the top flight table).
“We were playing Celtic and obviously wanted to get a full crowd. But the rest of the time we played at the stadium while it was being rebuilt. They built the Copland and the Broomloan and when they were completed they built the Centenary Stand. We pretty much played there throughout.
“I can’t understand why one part of the stadium is being redone and improved, but the rest of the ground can’t be used. Health and safety is obviously paramount now and maybe the regulations weren’t as strict in my day. But we played the majority of our games at Ibrox. I do think it is a bit strange the team has to go to Hampden to play for a couple of months.”
