Rangers are willing to talk to Celtic about away fans - but new chief executive James Bisgrove insists the club will pay most attention to what its own fanbase wants before opening the Ibrox doors.
Bisgrove, who officially takes over as CEO next month, has revealed Gers have not sold season tickets for the wedge of 800 seats between the Broomloan and Govan Stands that has housed the Celtic support in recent times – before this season’s total ban was implemented. That could pave the way for a potential return, although Bisgrove admitted the days of 7500 Celtic fans filling the Broomloan are over.
And if the overwhelming feeling of the Ibrox support is they are happy with the current situation, Rangers will listen carefully to them. Asked about a return to full away allocations, Bisgrove said: “I’d struggle to predict that now because there are so many aspects to that conversation. We need to see where the conversation goes but I don’t think that’s something that looks imminent. The supporters’ voice will always be the most important one for us in terms of their view because they are the lifeblood of the club and the engagement we are already doing with different supporters’ groups has started.
“The supporters’ view and emotive beliefs on that will certainly play a really key role. But what we need to do is engage with all the different stakeholders so that we come to the right decision for the football ground.
"It’s definitely an area we’re going to look at and we’ll have dialogue with all the right stakeholders and authorities – be that Police Scotland or Celtic. There is no specific date in the diary for those talks but I’d imagine during the summer and before the next Old Firm game the dialogue will take place.”
Bisgrove has vowed to make Rangers more receptive to talks with the SPFL – and revealed new Ibrox chairman John Bennett met with league counterpart Murdoch MacLennan last week – as part of a bridge-building exercise in the wake of a number of high-profile rows, including the club’s refusal to take part in any promotion of league sponsors cinch. But the Ibrox chief is adamant the club will continue to defend itself where it feels necessary.
He added: “We’ve already stated that we will engage and communicate with stakeholders right across football, whether it’s UEFA, ECA or the other Premiership clubs. And John won’t mind me sharing that last week he had dinner with the chairman of the SPFL – so that dialogue is there.
“But I think at the same time Rangers will always robustly defend our perspective and our position if we don’t believe something is right – whether that’s related to governance or a TV deal. I think if you compare the new Sky deal to the EFL deal then there are question marks that we have got around that.
"Then, you know, we will portray those views but we want to do so in a way that is building relationships as we go and we’ll see where those conversations are going.
“What we won’t do is bury our head in the sand and not have conversations. We will be prepared to engage and communicate.”
