RANGERS were going to have to find money from somewhere this season to stay afloat no matter how many fans renewed their season tickets.

The fact that the numbers of supporters buying season books is down between 10,000 to 15,000 on last season has simply meant they have had to go looking for it earlier.

Mike Ashley this week increased the amount of money he has loaned to the Ibrox club by another £1million, bringing his total loan to £3million.

And it has also been revealed that "additional working capital" will be required in order to keep the SPFL League One champions going before the end of the year.

But the need for this can't be laid at fans who have voted with their feet and have decided to stay away. Low attendances are only a small part of the issue here.

Gers supporters have been absolutely fantastic since the club has dropped down to the bottom tier of Scottish football two years ago. They have turned out in numbers and their backing has kept the club going.

They are not entirely to blame for the need to seek additional revenue. You have to look at the mismanagement of the club by previous regimes and some of the deals which were struck. The contracts which were agreed were good for the individuals involved - but not for the club. Rangers should have benefited far more from them.

I can see why the board want the SPFL Championship game with Alloa to go ahead tomorrow.

It brings in much-needed cash at a time when they clearly need it.

Most Rangers fans, especially those who travel from Ireland and England, want to see games played at three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon.

It is far easier for them to get to the matches if that is the time they kick off.

Even the supporters who are based in Glasgow would like to see their team in action at the traditional time.

They much prefer it to a midweek night. So I think that most fans are delighted the game is going ahead.

That said, I could understand why Ally McCoist wanted to postpone the Alloa match after Lewis Macleod, Bilel Mohsni and Arnold Peralta were called up by their countries.

Not having Mohsni and Peralta, who are away with Tunisia and Honduras respectively, will not impact upon them as neither player has been involved with the first team recently.

But Macleod has been the main man in the side this season. The team is built around him in many respects.

But he is just one man. And the opposition is Alloa.

Yes, Barry Smith's side had an excellent result in midweek. They beat Ayr United 4-0 in the Scottish Cup to set up a game against Hibs in the fourth round.

And, yes, the Wasps held the Gers to a 1-1 draw when they played them in the league back in September at the Indodrill Arena.

The visitors were lucky to get a point that day too.

But Rangers are expected to beat every team that visits Ibrox regardless of who they have available.

They should have a strong enough side to do that without Lewis.

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