THERE has been plenty of good news for Rangers fans so far this summer as eight players have arrived at Ibrox and Mark Allen has been appointed as Director of Football.

But the announcement that a deal has been struck with Sports Direct is undoubtedly the best bit of business that has been done by the board.

Rangers could never really go forward like they wanted to until this was sorted and the news that the deal has been renegotiated is fantastic.

Dave King and the board have been getting a bit of stick in some quarters recently but the chairman has been working away on this in the background for months now.

As he said on Wednesday, he has spent more time on this than he has on his business interests back in South Africa. All credit to him for putting in the hours here.

And he has come out of it all with a deal that he wanted, that the fans wanted and that Rangers needed.

Dave came in for criticism for not being at many games last season, and I felt he should have been here more at times as well, but behind the scenes his efforts have paid off.

If there were any doubters of Dave or the board, I am sure this announcement will have gone a long way to winning them over.

It brings an end to all the litigation between Rangers and Sports Direct, and there won’t be a court case involving Mark Warburton either. It is nice that the club are free from legal matters and everyone at Ibrox can now move forward.

The threat of litigation always cast a shadow over the club but now the matter has been sorted and Rangers fans can do what they have wanted to do for a long time and go back out and buy their strips.

The financial benefit to Rangers is obviously very significant and it was the best news that I have heard in a while.

The supporters have stood by the club superbly in the last few years but they haven’t been able to put their money in by buying shirts and scarves and other bits of merchandise.

I know it has been hard for them at times but I take my hat off to the thousands and thousands of them that didn’t put their hand in their pocket.

They had a point to prove. They knew that Rangers weren’t getting a good deal and in the end their stance has paid off and they have helped the board get the agreement they wanted.

Once the chairman said it was OK, the fans were back in the shops and were on the website buying kit for themselves and their family.

The fans would have been gutted that they couldn’t put the strip on so this is great news for them and they can see the club are heading in the right direction once again.

At every home game, you get punters coming from all over the country and further afield and they would have been desperate to go into the shop and get a top or a souvenir to take home with them.

But they would have had to explain to their sons or daughters, nieces or nephews and grandkids that they couldn’t bring them back a Rangers strip. Now they can.

It is a real boost for the supporters but the benefits are clear for the club as well and the financial impact of this deal is really significant on and off the park.

The more money that comes into the club, the more money that can be put into the team and that is what the fans want to see at the end of the day.

This news can only help morale around the whole club and there are a lot of positive signs for Rangers as we get closer to the new season.

I know a lot of the fans are getting excited because they have seen the new signings coming in. We will have to wait and see how they do once they get on the park.

But the supporters are right to have a smile on their faces again and I am sure they can’t wait to get back to Ibrox for the game with Progres Niederkorn next Thursday night.

The feel good factor hasn’t been there for a while and there was massive disappointment amongst the fans, the board, the management and the players about last season. But things are on the up.

On paper, we look a far stronger squad than we did last term and hopefully Pedro Caixinha can get the side off to a good start in the Europa League and we can take that momentum into the Premiership campaign.

The board have backed him in the transfer market and he has got his players in, and importantly for me there are players that are leaders coming into the squad.

Our biggest problem last season was a lack of consistency and it is only by winning games that the feel good factor will continue at Ibrox.

Rangers haven’t turned any corners yet. You do that when you challenge for titles and win cups.

It is too early to say that but the signs are far more promising for us both on and off the park after a really positive week for Rangers.