SONS of Struth chief Craig Houston reckons the pressure on the Rangers board has paid off as season ticket sales continue to struggle at Ibrox.

A campaign from the Union of Fans, and backed by former director Dave King and a host of Gers legends, has seen thousands of fans shun board pleas over ticket renewals.

Rangers are well short of the 36,000 briefs they shifted last season for the League One campaign and Houston is pleased to see fan power ramping up the heat on the beleaguered board.

He said: "When we discussed the possibility of the season ticket trust, I thought if Rangers got about 20,000 (renewals) then we would have had an effect.

"When we started hearing reports of 8,000 and 10,000 the week before the deadline, I was overwhelmed by that.

"We are not kidding ourselves, that is not because of the Sons of Struth and the Union of Fans, that is because it is what fans want.

"The fans have decided for a load of reasons they don't want to buy season tickets.

"Even if it was to get up to 20,000, I think that is a victory for the fans."

Houston was at Ibrox yesterday alongside legend John Brown to hand in a petition, with more than 7000 signatures so far, to chief executive Graham Wallace and director Sandy Easdale calling for security for the stadium and Murray Park to be granted to the fans.

The UoF had a showdown summit with the board earlier this month and while relations between the parties have hit a new low, Houston is still keen to find a way forward.

He said: "We have had absolutely no correspondence, no emails, no phone calls, nothing, even though we have tried to contact them.

"The dialogue has stopped. It seems that one side didn't want any and the other side have still got their ears open.

"The board have got things all round the stadium saying that they are 'ready to listen' but I don't know who they are ready to listen to.

"They just want to listen to people who will agree with them.

"They had a group of fans trying to do something positive and get people to buy season tickets if they had given us legal assurances.

"They say they have given them verbally. If you are of your word, it shouldn't be that difficult to appease the many thousands of fans."