Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh and his Ibrox sidekick Paraag Marathe faced a stern 'must do better' report card from shareholders at the club's annual meeting at the Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow. The American custodians, who took over last summer, admitted to a 'dog's dinner' of a first year, with three managers appointed, £60 million spent, and zero trophies won.
Board admits failures, urges unity
During a 90-minute grilling, Cavenagh, Marathe, and CEO Jim Gillespie put on a confident display as they faced probing questions about last year's failures and this season's false start. 'Words are cheap,' admitted the chairman, but he pointed out that constructing a winning team will be considerably more costly, both in time and cash. The American owners are willing to invest both to right last year's wrongs.
Despite frustration at seeing new boss Derek McInnes fail to win any of his first three games, the 550 shareholders in attendance appreciated what was said. The directors urged fans to stick by McInnes' new-look line-up while it beds in. 'We need your support,' said Marathe. 'You need to support these players as well. They need to believe that you believe in them, because it's a lot easier to crumble if they don't believe that you believe in them. Give them a chance.'
McInnes earns Klopp comparison
Having tried and failed with both Russell Martin and Danny Rohl in the hot seat last year, the board head-hunted former Hearts gaffer McInnes. CEO Gillespie explained their choice: 'It's very simple. There are two different types of managers – you get a Klopp-type manager and you get a Guardiola-type manager. In terms of Rangers' game model and what fans' expectations are, we wanted a Klopp-type manager who was on the front foot and played aggressive football and created chances and score goals. Derek McInnes is a Klopp-style manager.'
Chermiti transfer risk questioned
The news ahead of Sunday's Hibs clash was that Gers had rejected a club record £22m bid for Youssef Chermiti from Galatasaray. A question from the floor raised why McInnes was allowed to put that huge windfall at risk by starting the Portuguese hitman, who ended up injured. Cavenagh said: 'We won't ever speak individual deals and individual players. But when we think about selling a player, there are two things that have to come together. One is that we get the value that is appropriate for the player and the second is that there is time left in the window that we can reinvest those funds quickly and efficiently to be equal or better from a sporting perspective. If both of those things don't exist we won't do a deal. We are not under pressure to sell.'
Castore deal under fire
Rangers fans were keen to rip a stitch off the club's kit provider Castore, and Ibrox chiefs admitted there have been issues with the sponsorship deal they inherited. Marathe even admitted the current eight-year deal signed back in 2022 was one they would not have agreed to had the Americans been in charge then. 'They know how we feel, they know where we are,' he said. 'I am going to say this unreserved. We would not have done that deal a year ago for this eight year contract that is set up the way it is. We did inherit it, we understand the rationale for why it was done. We would not have done that contract. In fact our only option was to buy the club that came with that or not buy the club.'
Ibrox upgrades on the table
The expansion of the stadium has long been top of fans' wish list. It was confirmed the board are assessing several options to improve the ground, including one that would drop the Ibrox pitch by several metres, making space for up to 6000 extra seats. Marathe said: 'We need to make sure that we maintain the electricity that's inside Ibrox. That is a competitive advantage for us. It can be a suffocating place to play for opposing team players. So whatever we do, we cannot dilute that. We cannot take away what gives us that competitive advantage. We are all acutely aware of that. So we won't do anything that takes away a couple of decibels quieter, or takes away from that electricity that we have. That's really important.'
