RANGERS fans hoarse from screaming at their board left the AGM yesterday knowing little more about what the future holds for the troubled Ibrox club.

 

Several pertinent questions were - in amongst all of the abuse, insults and heckling - put to the four directors who sat shivering in the hastily-erected tent on the pitch.

But precious few of those received wholly satisfactory answers.

Indeed, some weren't even afforded the courtesy of a response.

"What are Mike Ashley's intentions for Rangers?" was one of the things asked of the top table about a man on who so much now hinges.

Club chairman David Somers replied that supporters would have to put that to the Sports Direct owner himself.

The next time they spot him serving behind the counter at The Fort branch of his nationwide chain of superstores perhaps Dave?

"Are Imran Ahmad, Charles Green and Ticketus still involved?" demanded former player John Brown to a round of applause.

Somers revealed he was confident that they were not, to the best of his knowledge, still connected to the SPFL Championship club.

"Who is behind Blue Pitch and Margarita Holdings?" was one that was put to football board chairman Sandy Easdale.

"They are wealthy foreign entities," said Easdale.

"They gave me their proxies to represent them as they are based abroad."

And so it went on without, as has so often been the case on these occasions in the past, the burning topics ever really being addressed fully.

Certainly, there were no questions asked or details given about the terms of the controversial retail deals with Sports Direct or why the stadium naming rights were returned.

The insinuations from Somers that followers not turning up at games in such great numbers increased the need for the club to borrow money were tiresome.

And allegations of "anti-Rangers feeling" among "the football establishment" smacked of a desperate attempt to curry favour with the conspiracy theorists among the support.

But after the vitriol had subsided and the shareholders had dispersed it was possible to reflect on what was said and discern what lies ahead for Rangers.

It was confirmed that Ashley, who effectively holds power by virtue of the interest-free loans he has given Rangers in recent months, wants the club to survive.

So that should mean that more funding from the billionaire English businessman will be forthcoming in the year ahead in order to meet running costs and another administration is not imminent.

And £8million will be required to keep Rangers afloat in 2015 as a result of the "legacy" problems that club officials have been wrestling with.

But will Ashley invest heavily in the club, as he has done at Newcastle United, as they bid to return to the summit of the Scottish game?

That does not look likely after the AGM. New chief executive Derek Llambias confirmed that Kenny McDowall will be in charge of team affairs for the remainder of the season and "possibly beyond".

No disrespect to McDowall, who is an experienced and respected coach, but that is a far cheaper option than bringing in permanent replacements for Ally McCoist and his coaching team.

It is a further example of the cost-cutting measures which have seen many long-serving and loyal staff made redundant in the build-up to Christmas.

A comment from Somers in his opening AGM statement was also revealing.

"We need to look at the football side for a number of reasons," he said.

He added: "There has for some time existed a chasm between the talented young players being developed at Murray Park and our first team.

"We need to focus on ways of developing our own young players for the first team rather than continually buying in players."

Continually buying in players! The last time Rangers parted with hard cash for a new recruit was over two years ago when David Templeton joined from Hearts.

Since then, McCoist has needed to rely on free transfers and the quality of football on the park has often not been what supporters have come to expect.

Talk of a "chasm" that exists between the youth players and the first team is unusual given the success of both Fraser Aird and Lewis Macleod.

Both are first team regulars.

"Those comments strongly suggest that McDowall, or whoever else is in charge of the football side, will have to rely on kids for the foreseeable future.

It is also not inconceivable that many of the out-of-contract players at Rangers will not find new deals forthcoming in the final months of the 2014/15 campaign.

McCoist had to put his faith in home-grown talent, the likes of Robbie Crawford, Chris Hegarty, Ross Perry and Kai Naismith, in the early days of "The Journey".

It was not always pretty. Anybody who witnessed the defeats to Stirling Albion, Annan Athletic, Peterhead or Forfar Athletic will testify to that.

So how will the team fare in the SPFL Championship, or Premiership if they win promotion this term, if they have to put their faith in those players emerging from Murray Park?

Llambias - who was, like his predecessor Graham Wallace at the AGM 12 months before, given the warmest response from the assembled throng - stressed he would not shy away from difficult decisions.

He said: "Not everything I do will be popular, but everything I do will be in the club's long-term interests.

"We need financial stability off the pitch and great football on the pitch."

The problems this board has inherited are not of their making - but they are the ones who have been charged with clearing up the mess and keeping the club afloat.

"Nevertheless, the rejection of the £16million rescue package proposed by the Dave King-led consortium for failure to provide proof of funds still rankles many supporters.

It will continue to do so if, as looks highly possible, there are more cutbacks and no significant investment is forthcoming in the months ahead.