Rangers Football Club

NICKY CLARK and Rangers legend Mark Hateley today helped launch Follow We Will: The Fall and Rise of Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. An incisive, thoughtful analysis of the causes and legacy from Rangers financial collapse Follow We Will counters the biases, failures and apathy attached to the club in an uncompromising analysis that promotes scrutiny and activism. Follow We Will features an exclusive interview with Lee Wallace and forewords by Walter Smith and Professor Graham Walker. It was written by leading commentators, journalists, university lecturers, and, most importantly, fans. Its contents are radical, powerful and take a swipe at the mediaâ??s outdated image of Rangers fans. All author proceeds arising from sales of the book will be donated to the Rangers Charity Foundation. Fans can buy a copy at Amazon by clicking here. Read more on the official site...

ALLY McCOIST is hopeful of tying up a deal for Bilel Mohsni soon as the players agent continues talks with Rangers CEO Craig Mather. * The defender impressed in training and matches during the clubâ??s tours to northern Scotland and Germany. Now the Rangers boss is eager for deal to be sealed to secure the tall centre back as his eighth addition to the squad this summer. McCoist said: â??Iâ??m very hopeful that a deal is being done with Mohsni as we speak. His agent is up at the moment and is speaking with Craig. â??Nothing is over the line yet but I would be hopeful that we might have some news on that.â? McCoist is also still monitoring other potential recruits with defenders, goalkeepers and forwards still on his radar. He added: â??The Boris Pandza situation is still on-going. I would be thrilled if we could get the two of those boys. â??Weâ??re still monitoring the goalkeeping situation. Scott Gallacher played very well against Sheffield Wednesday but I think it would be in his and our best interests to get him out on loan so he can play every week. â??To do that we would need to get another goalkeeper in so thatâ??s an on-going situation as well. â??Kenny Miller resigned with Vancouver, which was a disappointment to us, but we wish him well and weâ??ll have a look about for a centre forward.â? Read more on the official site...

ALLY McCOIST will do without four of his new players until September, when the clubâ??s transfer embargo is lifted. Here we explain who can and canâ??t play in the opening weeks of the season, with different rules applied to each competition. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER CLEARANCE Only players whose registrations were previously held in Scotland are eligible to appear as trialists before September. That means Richard Foster, Steven Smith and Arnold Peralta will not play competitively until September. RAMSDENS CUP McCoist can select two of his new players for Sundayâ??s match with Albion Rovers. No trialists can feature if Rangers progress to the second round, due to be played on Aug 21. LEAGUE CUP Trialists are not eligible in the League Cup so McCoist will pick from players already registered with the club last season. SPFL LEAGUE ONE Rangers face Brechin City, Stranraer, Airdrie and East Fife before the embargo is lifted at the end of August.* McCoist can select a maximum of two trialists per match in league games. No player can play more than three matches in the SPFL as a trialist. Those three matches are in addition to an appearance in the Ramsdens Cup.* Read more on the official site...

ALLY McCOIST faces shuffling his squad for five weeks until the clubâ??s registration embargo is lifted. The Rangers boss has secured seven new faces already this summer, with some able to feature in the coming month as trialists. However differences in each competition mean he will have a different squad to select from for just about every match until September. He explained: â??Itâ??s extremely difficult for us. We can play two trialists in the Ramsdens Cup as long as their international clearance is in Scotland. â??If weâ??re lucky enough to qualify for the next round however we then canâ??t play any trialists in the second round. â??In the League Cup we canâ??t play any at all, while in the League we can play two trialists per game a maximum of three times per player. â??Itâ??s far from ideal and I donâ??t want to make any mistakes on it so Iâ??ll be careful about it!â? McCoist is not overly concerned by the lack of consistency in the players available to him in the opening month and sees it as a chance for some of his players to stake a claim for a regular place come September. He added: â??Iâ??ll judge it game by game, we wonâ??t be telling the players now whoâ??s playing when. Itâ??s important too that we have games that the lads who arenâ??t eligible can keep their fitness up in. â??In the grand scheme of things, compared to last year, itâ??s something that weâ??ll handle. â??Weâ??ll start with the group we finished last season with and thatâ??s fine because it will give them an opportunity to establish themselves. â??Iâ??m hopeful that this year with the new faces weâ??ll have a level of competition that was maybe lacking last year.â? Read more on the official site...

ALLY MCCOIST believes Rangers earned their fifth pre-season win on the bounce after his sideâ??s strong second-half display against FC Emmen today. The manager was understandably thrilled to see new signing Jon Daly net his first goal for the Light Blues and with the quality of strike he produced in the 49th minute. As Rangers prepare to return to Glasgow this evening McCoist expressed his delight at the way his team have performed this summer and the fitness levels they have achieved during their seven days at the Klosterpforte Hotel in Marienfeld, Germany. He said: â??I am delighted again today, I thought the first half was pretty even, they certainly have one or two very good players. â??They are a typical Dutch side with plenty of flair, pace and invention. â??But we played well in the first half as well. We had one or two chances to score and what I thought was particularly pleasing was our second half performance as we were pretty solid and were certainly the better team. â??We deserved the victory and it was a great goal from Jon. I thought Andy Little did fantastically well down the left wing. He whipped in a great ball and Jon took a lovely touch away from the defender to open it up for him. â??As I keep saying to the strikers hit it into the ground and across the goalie, he did that today and it was a great goal. â??Weâ??ve rode our luck a little bit, against Gutersloh we could have lost a goal and certainly today they had one or two chances. â??But I think over the games we have been quite comfortable at the back and as long as the concentration remains high and we donâ??t start thinking it is easy then weâ??ll be alright." Read more on the official site...

RANGERS will face English Premier League side Newcastle United in a glamour friendly at Ibrox on Tuesday, 6 August 2013, kick-off 7.45pm.* Alan Pardew's side will provide a solid test for Ally McCoist's squad ahead of the new league campaign and will bring a strong pool of players to Glasgow next month. Top drawer talent like Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul, Argentine stars Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez, Ivory Coast midfielder Cheik Tiote and Senegal strike star Papiss Cisse are all expected to feature on the hallowed turf. There is also a distinctly French flavour to the Newcastle squad with Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yoan Gouffran, Mathieu Debuchy and Sylvain Marveaux all set to travel to Ibrox. Rangers Manager Ally McCoist commented: "We have enjoyed a positive pre-season so far and we are all looking forward to our final warm up match against Newcastle before the league campaign begins. "Newcastle have a strong squad, packed with international players and they will provide a great test for our players. I am sure both sets of supporters will be keen to fill Ibrox and take in such a high profile game before the serious league business gets underway." It will be the first time the Toon have visited Ibrox since the summer of 2010 when Rangers won 2-1 with goals from Kenny Miller and Steven Naismith and ex-Ger Peter Lovenkrands countering for the Geordies. Six years earlier Alex McLeish took Rangers to St Jamesâ??s Park when they played in the Gateshead Cup and lost 4-2. The only occasion the two sides have met competitively was in the semi-finals of the Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1969 when Newcastle prevailed and went on to win the tournament, winning 2-0 at home after a goal-less draw at Ibrox. Tickets are on sale from tomorrow (Saturday, 20 July) to season ticket holders prices for Adults £13, Concessions £8 and Juveniles £3. Public sale commences on Tuesday, 23 July with Adults prices £15, Concessions £10 and Juveniles £5.* Family packages will also be available (2 adults and 2 kids) £35. Tickets are available from the Rangers Ticket Centre, clicking HERE or by calling 0871 702 1972 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras). Read more on the official site...

FRASER AIRD could be set to nail his national colours to the mast after being called up to the Scotland under-19 squad. Toronto-born Aird is also wanted by Canada and was named in a provisional squad for the full national team for this summerâ??s Gold Cup competition. However, the call-up by the Canadians was not pursued formally and they went to the tournament in the USA without him and finished bottom of their group with just one point. Aird has been non-committal on his international future although he has represented Scotland at under-17 level and he could play for the Scots at all age levels below the full squad and still commit to Canada. Under FIFA rules a player has to take part in an â??Aâ? match before his football nationality is confirmed. Aird has been selected by Scotland Under-19 coach Ricky Sbragia for a training camp and closed-door friendly against Northern Ireland next month. Fellow Rangers youth stars Liam Kelly, Andy Murdoch and Charlie Telfer have also been included as the Scots prepare for their UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round, which takes place in Germany in October. The squad is:* Goalkeepers Ryan Fulton (Liverpool) Liam Kelly (Rangers) Defenders Cameron Burgess (Fulham) Stuart Findlay (Celtic) Ryan Finnie (Hamilton Academical) Stephen Hendrie (Hamilton Academical) Jordan McGhee (Heart of Midlothian) Mark Oâ??Hara (Kilmarnock) John Souttar (Dundee United) Matthew Targett (Southampton) Midfielders Adam King (Heart of Midlothian) Cameron King (Norwich City) Jamie Lindsay (Celtic) Andy Murdoch (Rangers) Darren Petrie (Dundee United) Craig Sibbald (Falkirk) Charlie Telfer (Rangers) Forwards Fraser Aird (Rangers) Aidan Connolly (Dundee United) Samuel Gallagher (Southampton) Ryan Gauld (Dundee United) Denny Johnstone (Celtic) Lawrence Shankland (Aberdeen) Cameron Smith (Aberdeen) Read more on the official site...

KENNY McDOWALL watched Belil Mohsni turn in another impressive display for Rangers then spoke of his hope Craig Mather can strike a deal with the defender. French-Tunisian Mohsni once again strolled through this eveningâ??s match as FC Gutersloh were beaten 1-0 and he played the full 90 minutes. He nearly scored his first goal for the club in the first half and was unfortunate to see a strong header rebound off the bar. Chief executive Mather was in Germany to see tonightâ??s fixture and he has spoken to the 25-year-old today. Nothing has been agreed yet but there is an appetite on all sides to come to a positive conclusion. McDowall said: â??Craig is here along with Walter Smith and I know that along with the manager, theyâ??ve both been talking to Belil. â??Weâ??re very hopeful that we can get it done pretty soon. He played for us tonight and did very well again. â??We have been really happy with Belil and weâ??re just looking to get things over the line there now. â??He has put himself on the line and we take our hat off to him for doing that. There arenâ??t many people whoâ??ll come on trial. â??To be fair to Belil, he went up north with us and came over to Germany. He has played in all the games and has done everything weâ??ve asked him to do. â??He has done fantastically well in our matches and hopefully we can get him to put pen to paper and move forward from there.â? Read more on the official site...

RANGERS have been struck by deeply saddening news for the second time this week following the death of former manager Davie White. White, who was only the fourth man to manage Rangers, passed away yesterday at the age of 80 following a short illness. His death has come just two days after the passing of former vice-chairman Jack Gillespie and the Rangers players will wear black armbands tonight in their friendly match against Gutersloh in Germany as a mark of respect. White was manager of Rangers between 1967 and 1969 and even although his time at Ibrox was unsuccessful overall he remained a regular attender at Ibrox when he had retired from the game â?? including last season. White was one of the pre-eminent young coaches in the Scottish game having done well with Clyde but he found himself thrown into the role of Rangers manager in November 1967 far sooner than anyone could have predicted. His tenure lasted two years and he earned the unwarranted tag of the first Rangers manager not to win a major trophy, following in the legendary footsteps of Scot Symon, Bill Struth and William Wilton. However, there were mitigating circumstances the most compelling of which was the resurgence of Celtic under Jock Stein which coincided with the break-up of the great Rangers team of the early 1960s. White was responsible for signing Colin Stein and Alex MacDonald who would both go on to become hugely important and successful Rangers players â?? MacDonald in particular who was the hub of two Trebles as well as the 1972 Cup Winnersâ?? Cup success in Barcelona which he shared with Stein. Symon had made him his assistant in the summer of 1967 but on November 1that year Symon became the first Rangers manager to be sacked â?? even although the Light Blues were top of the league â?? and White was plunged into the job. The Rangers board reacted badly to the fact that Celtic were in Argentina playing Racing Club for the World Club Championship on the back of their European Cup success. They panicked and, in truth, treated a great man very shabbily when they dismissed Symon and installed White. READ A FULL PROFILE ON DAVIE WHITE HERE Chairman Walter Smith led the tributes when he said: â??We are all saddened by the news of Davieâ??s passing and our immediate thoughts are with his family. â??I remember when he was appointed as manager and he had such a difficult job at that time not just because he was following Scot Symon but because Celtic were enjoying the best period in their history under Jock Stein. â??Davie was also manager of Dundee when I was with Dundee United and, ironically, be brought the League Cup to Dens Park in 1973 by beating Celtic. â??He was a great Rangers man and scarcely missed a match at Ibrox.â? Alex MacDonald will always be indebted to White for signing him for Rangers in 1968. He said: â??It was a fantastic moment for me to join my club but I have to be honest and say that Davie didnâ??t get the best out of me. â??I couldnâ??t handle the pressure in the early days so I didnâ??t give Davie the performances I was capable of although I managed to overcome that. â??Iâ??m very sad to hear the news about Davie especially coming so quickly after the news about Jack.â? Read more on the official site...

IAN DURRANT says Rangers will spend the next few days working at the best summer training camp venue heâ??s ever experienced. The Light Blues arrived in Germany last night having flown to Munster in the hours after their friendly meeting with Bristol City at Ashton Gate. Until Saturday, theyâ??ll be staying at the stunning Hotel Klosterpforte in sleepy Marienfeld, a short journey from Bielefeld in North-Rhine Westphalia. Portugalâ??s base during the 2006 World Cup, it has its own dedicated sport hotel specifically designed for football teams to train at. The likes of Borussia Dortmund, Ajax and Porto have all stayed there before while it has been used most recently by English Premiership side Aston Villa. Gers were visitors to the Klosterpfote under Walter Smith in 2009 and theyâ??ll play local side FC Gutersloh on Wednesday night. Ally McCoistâ??s men will then leave for Holland next weekend, where theyâ??ll play second-tier side Emmen before flying home to Scotland. A veteran of 30 years in the senior game, Durrant has sampled a variety of facilities throughout his career during warm-up tours. And heâ??s adamant the place Rangers will continue their preparations for 2013/14 at is a cut above the rest. Durrant said: â??Weâ??ve struck up a good relationship with the owner, Reinholt, and every year he sends us a text to say when itâ??s free. â??During the World Cup when it was on in Germany a few years ago, it was voted as the best training ground due to the hotel and the surfaces there. The pitches are second to none. â??Weâ??ve arranged the first game nearby so thereâ??s not a lot of travelling involved which is good for us in terms of recovery time afterwards. â??Itâ??s a lovely place to be and everything we need is there. Thereâ??s a gymnasium, plunge pools, treatment rooms and the food is outstanding. â??The Klosterpforte is the best away training ground Iâ??ve been to. Il Ciocco in Italy was great when I was a player but there was only one pitch there and you were a bit restricted. â??Weâ??ve got a lot more space at our German base and that gives us the option of doing different things with the squad. â??Itâ??s a fantastic complex and we were fortunate enough to get in because most of the top German teams base themselves there at some point.â? There are now two weeks to go until the first competitive game of the season, the Ramsdens Cup first round tie with Albion Rovers in Livingston on July 28. And thereâ??s a stark contrast in the build-up to that game compared with the disorganised approach Gers had to take this time last year ahead of their opener at Brechin. With more structure at the club now and a clear direction to head in, Durrant is encouraged by the way things are going at present. He added: â??Last year we tried to do the best we could but a lack of numbers and having to bring players in at the last minute didnâ??t help us. â??We sat down at the end of the season to discuss this summer and got a programme ready which is making a big difference. â??Now weâ??ve got good games to look forward to in Germany and Holland before we go back to the UK and play Sheffield Wednesday next midweek. â??We know that over the next couple of weeks weâ??re going to have to be at our best to win these games and our fitness levels are rising so weâ??re hopeful of doing well.â? Read more on the official site...

A GROUND-BREAKING partnership between Rangers Football Club and Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, is set to bring fans into a whole new era of in-depth, WiFi-based engagement with the club. In a seven-figure investment, the club is working with Huawei to provide one of football's first fully converged stadium-wide WiFi deployments. The market-leading project will ultimately give every fan seated at Ibrox â?? as well as those in the approaches, concourse, restaurants and corporate areas â?? full, instant access to content-rich media and allow them to participate in real-time interactions with the club. Starting in August on a stand-by-stand basis, the phased development will allow Rangers to engage with fans and create the best possible matchday experience. The new set-up will remove connectivity problems in high-density areas and ultimately give 50,000+ supporters access to club competitions, merchandising, media, forthcoming events and enhanced fan/club engagement. Stadium WiFi has been under discussion at Rangers for a number of years following fan demand, with supporters wanting to access the full panoply of internet sport while at the ground, but being frustrated by 3G mobile network download speeds. Now, thanks to this partnership with Huawei, the club will create a more meaningful relationship with fans as well as enhancing the matchday experience at Ibrox. Read more on the official site...

IN the first of a new series of exclusive, in-depth and hard-hitting TV interviews, James Traynor speaks to Rangers Manager Ally McCoist and supporters will be able to watch it for free on the official Rangers website tomorrow. For around 30 minutes, Traynor grills McCoist on a variety of topics and asks the questions Rangers fans want answers to. In a no holds barred, and sometimes heated sit-down at Murray Park, McCoist covers a variety of topics:* he reveals his vision for the future of Rangers he outlines his tactical philosophy how he wants the new-look Light Blues to play an exciting, attacking brand of winning football that the fans of this great institution deserve how new fitness coach Jim Henry will drill the players for the campaign ahead and much, much more The manager also discusses the club's latest signings and then turns the tables on Traynor as the pair engage in a heated debate on what he had previously written about Rangers and how some people still want to have a fly kick at this 141-year old club. It is an interview not to be missed and fans worldwide can enjoy it for free. Watch McCoist and Traynor on your official website tomorrow. Read more on the official site...

FORMER Rangers striker Gordon Durie has joined the clubâ??s coaching staff to work with the reserve and under-20 players. The 47-year-old spent almost seven years with the Light Blues between 1993 and 2000, scoring 58 times in 171 appearances. Most famously, his hat-trick helped defeat Hearts 5-1 in the 1996 Scottish Cup final at Hampden, with Brian Laudrup assisting him each time and scoring twice himself. Durie had moved into coaching with East Fife and was appointed as assistant manager there in 2010 before taking charge himself last year. Indeed, he was on the touchline at Ibrox last August as the New Bayview outfit was beaten 4-0 by Gers in the first round of the League Cup. Durie later had to step down from his position in November because of ill health but is well again and began working at Murray Park this week. His move back to the Ibrox outfit follows the weekend announcement that new head of sports science Jim Henry has also joined the 54-times Scottish champions. There had been a gap in the coaching staff after Tommy Wilson left in February to work with MLS side Philadelphia Union. Durieâ??s arrival means he will work closely with youth coach Billy Kirkwood in the months ahead. Manager Ally McCoist told RangersTV: â??Everybody got a bit of a fright when Gordon was unwell not so long ago but thankfully he has been given the all-clear and heâ??s in fine fettle. â??Heâ??s coming in to take the under-20s and the reserves with Kirky and hopefully with the numbers weâ??ll have, we can get some games arranged against quality opposition. â??Iâ??d be very, very hopeful we can organise friendlies with teams from down south and maybe even take the boys on the road if need be. â??Itâ??s important the lads are kept ticking over and Gordon will play a big part in that. We lost Tommy earlier this year and Alan Kernaghan left not so long ago so itâ??s good to fill that gap. â??Weâ??ve been down on numbers and it was high time we got a replacement. Weâ??re delighted with who weâ??ve got and Gordon has fitted in exceptionally well in his first couple of days.â? Read more on the official site...

CRAIG MATHER admits Rangers may have to move more players on in order to shape the squad the way Ally McCoist wants it. The manager is still keen to recruit additional new faces for the forthcoming campaign, during which the Light Blues will be favourites to win the Second Division. So far chief executive Mather has been keen to facilitate McCoistâ??s wishes and that remains the case â?? but only to a point. The Lancastrian knows thereâ??s a requirement to stay within the budget and that means people may have to move on. Gers are making saving after losing the likes of Carlos Bocanegra, Dorin Goian, Neil Alexander and Francisco Sandaza in recent months. At present, they have a first-team pool of almost 30 players and that may have to be brought down slightly to remain affordable. Mather told RangersTV: â??More of the squad could be moving on. Thereâ??s potential for that, Iâ??m not going to sit here and hide it. â??Ally has made no secret of the fact heâ??d like to make one or two more signings if possible and in principle I have no problem with that. â??We do have to balance the books though and look at it accordingly. It would be good for the stability of the club if we can get a couple more moved on as well.â? Rangers will go into the new season with their player registration embargo running until the end of August. That means they could play as many as eight competitive games without the seven men who have been recruited over the summer featuring as signed players. They can, of course, play as trialists but Gers can only field two of them in any one game and there are limits regarding how many matches each individual can feature in. That presents an availability problem and the easy option would be to retain as many current players as possible until near the end of the transfer window. But Mather is looking at the picture and maintains if people do leave, theyâ??ll go when the circumstances are best rather than when they are most convenient. He added: â??It is going to be a juggling act and we only found out recently that the trialists will be able to play after all. Under SPL rules they couldnâ??t but under SFL rules they could. â??Weâ??re only going to be able to play two of the new players as trialists in each game so weâ??ll need to balance things there. â??What we have to do is make decisions based upon the longevity of the club rather than just a four-week period. â??We will play the cards as they come at us rather than worry about the first month only at the moment. Itâ??s a long season.â? Read more on the official site...

RANGERS have appointed Jim Henry as their new Head of Sports Science following Adam Owenâ??s recent departure for Sheffield United. Henry started with the club earlier this week and arrives at the Light Blues with a great deal of Premiership experience. Having begun working in football in 1996, he had nearly four years as Aston Villaâ??s first-team fitness coach between 2006 and 2010. Henry also spent time at Sunderland as their Head of Athletic Performance at first-team level between November 2011 and March this year. A former Scottish judo internationalist, his methods have attracted praise from the likes of current Manchester City midfielder James Milner in the past. Someone Ally McCoist knows from his youth in East Kilbride - he attended Hunter High while Henry was a pupil at Duncanrig â?? the manager is delighted to have appointed him. The Gers boss said: â??Jim has joined the coaching staff and I have no doubt he will be a huge success. His expertise will undoubtedly help the players prepare for the challenges ahead. â??He has enjoyed his time with the players in the last few days and will get the squad in peak condition for the campaign ahead.* â??This pre-season is very different from last term as we couldnâ??t adequately prepare. We have a full programme of matches to play plus a trip to Germany. â??His experience and knowledge is second to none and we all look forward to working with him on a daily basis.â? Chief executive Craig Mather added: â??We are delighted to welcome Jim to Rangers. He has a proven track record of excellence in his field and a wealth of experience to offer this club. â??He will be a valuable addition to the football department and I know Ally and Kenny McDowall rate him very highly. â??Jim has worked at a number of clubs north and south of the border, including Aston Villa and Sunderland, and we wish him well in his new role. â??Already we have seen signs of Jimâ??s positive impact and influence in the first week of pre-season and believe Rangers fans will witness a much higher level of fitness because of his expertise.â? Read more on the official site...