RANGERS fans were today backed to help the Ibrox club post a profit - by snapping up season tickets in huge numbers this summer.

The Glasgow giants released their interim financial results yesterday and announced they had made a loss of £2.89 million after tax.

But thousands of supporters refused to buy season tickets last year due to their deep unhappiness at how the Light Blues were being run.

And attendances at Ibrox have shot up since the old board was ousted at an EGM called by major shareholder Dave King last month.

Supporters are now being tipped to get behind their team in force in the 2015/16 campaign whether they are in the SPFL Championship or Premiership.

Sons of Struth supremo Craig Houston urged his fellow Rangers followers to attend matches on a game-by-game basis in a bid to safeguard the future of Ibrox.

But he revealed that he, and many others in the Gers support, will be doing the exact opposite in the months ahead to help the new regime in their attempts to restore financial stability.

Houston said: "I am quite happy with the results. Because if we get promoted we will see an increase in sales and an increase in the average ticket price. The income should be improved.

"The people, myself included, who were driving the campaign urging fans not to buy season tickets and just to go matches at Ibrox on a game-by-game basis last year will be encouraging people to buy tickets this year.

"There will be a complete 180 degree u-turn by fans and fans groups on last year because there is belief and trust in those who are steering the ship now. Even if we don;t go up more fans will buy season books."

Meanwhile, Houston has urged the Rangers board to examine the legality of an agreement to pay Newcastle United a £500,000 bonus if they win promotion this season.

The deal with the Barclays Premier League club, which is owned by Gers shareholder Mike Ashley, was made public in the interim results yesterday.

The money will be due to Newcastle, who announced a record annual profit of £18.7 million earlier this week, as part of a loan arrangement for five of their players.

The signings of Shane Ferguson, Gael Bigirimana, Kevin Mbabu, Remie Streete and Haris Vuckic were made in February when Derek Llambias was Rangers chief executive.

Only two members of the quintet have been involved with the first team - Vuckic and, for less than 45 minutes, Streete.

And it has been confirmed that no medical examinations were carried out on players Rangers are paying £5,000 a week for.

Rangers fans reacted angrily to the news the Ibrox club would have to pay out the sum if Stuart McCall's side gets out of the Championship via the end-of-season play-offs.

Houston said: "We took a paltry amount on the first day of the transfer window for our most promising player (Lewis Macleod was sold to Brentford in January) and biggest saleable asset.

"We were told that he had to go to help the club financially. But it now looks as we have given that much away to borrow five players - only two of whom have actually played for the club.

"That doesn't seem to be a very good bit of footballing business or, for that matter, financial business for Rangers.

"I would hope the club can examine the legality of the agreement, but I am sure it has been tied up so nicely that Rangers will need to pay that should they go up."