JOHN BENNETT said a lot but somehow said very little. A two-part interview with RangersTV - more than half an hour long and of over 4000 words - saw admissions and promises made but it was short on detail and left fans feeling unfulfilled.
The deputy chairman addressed football and financial performances and was honest about a series of communication calamities. Here, Herald and Times Sport picks out the key points after an exercise designed to answer questions that only raised more about where Rangers are heading on and off the park.
THE START TO THE SEASON
John Bennett: I talk to a lot of non-Rangers fans living where I live and if you actually just look at the facts of what we have achieved in two-and-a-bit years, what’s the club done?
It’s won the league, won a Scottish Cup for the first time in too many years as well, it gets to a Europa League final and it qualifies for the Champions League for the first time in too many years.
When I do talk to people here and also other people within the club, they kind of find that very impressive indeed. What I would say to you is that it’s very impressive indeed but you don’t rest on your laurels.
SUMMER TRANSFER BUSINESS
JB: I would say to you this, what are we six or so weeks into the season? I won’t judge a football player who comes to Rangers within that period of time. I’ve learned to wait a bit longer.
We haven’t seen them enough, I think we will see them. I think if you take another young player who we have signed - (Ridvan) Yilmaz.
Yes we spent significant money on that transfer but we signed him for five years, not five weeks, not five months – five years. I won’t wait five years to judge him but nor will I do it after five weeks.
DISCUSSIONS AROUND VAN BRONCKHORST'S SQUAD
JB: The board is listening to Gio, to Ross (Wilson), and taking recommendations, be they new players or existing squad members. To repeat, a squad that got you to a Europa League Final.
The recommendation comes and the board backs it and I go to the other night, to the Napoli game, some of those players to whom we gave new contracts - the goalkeeper (Allan McGregor), Steven Davis, Scott Arfield - more than played their part in what was a Rangers performance. Not a Rangers result, not the desired result but a Rangers performance against Napoli.
THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
JB: I've seen some stuff recently about £100m dropping from heaven, £40m dropping from heaven, headline numbers - it's never been more true to say 'don't believe the headlines'. I've seen one about Rangers 'hoarding cash' and all sorts of stuff.
Now, there's something I want to say about that. We can rail against that, we can say 'well, that's lazy journalism' or 'that's the usual suspects coming out and being as opportunistic as ever, having a crack at the club at the earliest opportunity, a couple of bad performances on the pitch let's go and have a crack at them'.
You can choose to rail against that, you can choose to point the finger and say 'the usual suspects' or whatever you want to call them. Let's have a look at ourselves and where, perhaps, we've fallen short.
We've fallen short in our communication of what, for example, qualification for the Champions League group stages actually means in financial terms. We fell short.
I'm sorry if certain people within the club feel I'm criticising them - I'm owning this, because I'm part of the club, we must all own it together. Let's look at ourselves before we point the finger elsewhere.
THE 'FOURTH PILLAR' OF RANGERS
JB: The player trading model wasn't up and running, wasn't up and firing. Here's the fact, it's actually only been up and running, up and firing, for months and it's called January 2022 with the sale of young Nathan [Patterson]. The development of young Nathan in that academy has been years in the making.
Players were moved on in the first team specifically to make way for Nathan and for Calvin (Bassey). They both came in, took their opportunities, grabbed the bull by the horns and sadly - from a football perspective, from my perspective - are no longer part of our squad. But that's the reality, they were seen, identified, targeted and they're now plying their trade at the top level.
ADDRESSING ISSUES RAISED BY SUPPORTERS
JB: I don't know about you, I was very struck by English Premier League fans and their reaction in certain clubs to that whole Super League stuff.
That told the owners of those clubs who really owns the club. I'm a part owner of Rangers but I'm every bit as much an owner of Rangers as a fan, a supporter, as I am somebody who happens to own some shares.
Never will we take them for granted. That's why I'm annoyed at some valid, valid criticism, observations, that our communication with our fans hasn't been good enough recently.
Let's fix that. They own the club, they're the lifeblood. It's not just a phrase, they own the club.
SUCCESS OF THE WOMEN'S TEAM
JB: Men’s first team, B Team, Youth Team, Women’s football, first and foremost win your league. First and foremost win your league, and the Women have done it.
I remember saying to them after they won the league, I went to the game where they clinched the league, and I remember saying about the Pioneers in Glasgow Rangers history. I said ‘you are pioneers'.
INVESTMENT OFF THE PARK
JB: When I look at the Rangers today, the facilities that we offer our players, our staff, we can now say ‘Auchenhowie is best in class’ and all that support network around them is best in class. You won’t get the players to come if you don’t do that.
The infrastructure and support network around them and able to play on the big stage of European football. Again, all of that has required and will continue to require investment.
The whole infrastructure of this club and around this club, from Auchenhowie to New Edmiston House, to the pitch at Ibrox, to lifts that were not fit for purpose... Roofs, the roofs were literally falling in.
All fixed. I am told by Stewart (Robertson) they will last for 40 years and they better because they cost a lot of money. £23million hard cash in those three years, during the Covid period as well.
DISABLED FACILITIES AT IBROX
JB: We will do whatever it takes, financially or otherwise. We need to get that right. We’ve been talking about it, ‘Let’s not just do enough’.
That’s not the Rangers way. Let’s just do enough. Let’s be best in class. Within the confines of that stadium footprint and infrastructure and limitations, can we be the best in the country.
That’s the challenge the members of the TRFC board driving this and leading this. That’s their challenge. Bring it to us. We will fund it. We need to get that right.
