Ibrox fan ownership group hope they can be the loan Rangers to help Light Blues board with Gers rebuild

In the coming weeks and months, and probably sooner rather than later, the Light Blue legions will want to see the colour of Dave King’s money. The same will be true of the Three Bears – Douglas Park, George Taylor and George Letham – as supporters hope for assurances that the foundations laid in the Ibrox rebuilding job will be built upon once again.

Rangers First are ready to play their part. They are backed by considerable numbers, they have the cash and they are keen to do business.

With a £2.5million hole to plug before the end of the season and investment required in Mark Warburton’s squad to ensure Rangers are looking forward to Premiership football come the end of the campaign, investment, in the short and medium term, will be key at Ibrox.

When King and his fellow directors address Rangers’ AGM on Friday, their personal commitment to the cause, in cash terms, will be questioned by shareholders and supporters.

The gathering of investors this week will be a far different affair to that of last December as the former regime were booed and heckled throughout a stormy affair and did little to endear themselves to those in attendance. It is a chance for the Gers board to reassure, to present their vision for the future.

No matter the millions that are pledged or delivered by those now in control at Ibrox, the financial backing of fans will help shape Rangers’ future on and off the park.

And Rangers First director Ricki Neill insists the fan ownership group are ready and willing to step up and pay to help their club along the road to recovery as quickly as possible.

“We could be in the same position as the Three Bears and, if the members wanted to, we could give Rangers soft loans,” he told SportTimes.

“We are at 3.52% and we have the money to get to 5%. Rangers could approach us and ask if we could give them a loan.

“At the moment, we are not buying shares but the money is still coming in. We could be the fourth Bear.

“We are holding off buying more shares just now. We have got the money in the bank and could go above the 5% mark.

“There are a lot of shares that have been frozen so we are keeping the money in the bank and looking at ways in which we can help Rangers.

“A soft loan is one option. The club could talk to us, like they can any party, and we would put it to our members.

“We were prepared for the share issue and have enough money to take up our shares. The timing doesn’t affect us.

“We don’t know when the share issue will happen and I can understand why the board are holding off just now.

“If fans keep investing in Rangers First or the Trust and we get enough shares to have a fan on the board then we can help protect the club going forward.”

The sweeping changes in the Ibrox boardroom in March were followed by an overhaul at Murray Park during the summer as Rangers looked to put years of turmoil off the park, and a campaign to forget on it, behind them as quickly as possible.

For once, football matters will be high up the agenda when shareholders gather in Glasgow on Friday morning, the performances of Mark Warburton’s side giving supporters reasons to be cheerful for the remainder of the Championship campaign.

King has often been bullish about Rangers’ prospects as he targets a Premiership title challenge next term, but the South Africa-based businessman will soon have to back up his words with cash to ensure the Light Blues squad are capable of matching his expectations.

“On the field, things are looking good for us,” Neill said. “We have got a strong challenge from Hibs but I think we are good enough to win the league.

“I do think people will be looking for investment in January and more players just to make sure we get promoted this season.

“We have got the right people on the board and people who won’t do anything to harm our club.

“It will be an interesting AGM. At the last meeting, they couldn’t say much because of the restrictions that were put in place.

“I think on Friday there will be more focus on football and there will be questions of Dave King and his investment.

“There has been money spent across the club, there has been investment in staff and players. There will be more talk about football rather than the politics at the club.

“A lot of fans are saying is that January is when we will see how serious Dave King is. There has been investment from him and the Three Bears and the fans have bought season tickets.

“In January, we will see how much he puts in for players to take us forward again.”

Much of the focus will be on football on Friday but there will undoubtedly be boardroom issues discussed and off-field questions asked of the Gers hierarchy.

A court injunction will stifle any discussion surrounding Sports Direct and Mike Ashley and Neill reckons fans are content to let those they trust in positions of power get on with the job in hand.

He said: “There are probably a lot of things that the board have been dealing with that the fans don’t know about. They are getting on with their job and thinking about the future.

“You can see it around the club and see that they are working through what is a long list.

“Most fans are happy with how things are going and pleased with the team. Rather than having to understand the finances and politics, they just want to talk about the football.”