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The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium – Ramsden’s Cup Final We will be open from 11am for Sunday’s Ramsden’s Challenge Cup Final with The Mighty Rangers taking on Raith Rovers. We invite any Rangers Supporter, who isn’t support the team through in Edinburgh, who can make it to the vicinity of the home of fantasy football to join us in celebrating the chance to win the only domestic cup we haven’t already won in our 142 year history. We will be showing live football games on our eleven big screen televisions: six 60” full HD televisions in the bar area and five big screen televisions in the lounge area, for an ideal sports event viewing experience. Renowned for our quick service and great pints, our staff will ensure you never have to wait long to get a drink. We also provide free rolls, free pies, an atmosphere second to none and for clarification – we don’t and never have had a cover charge. We also never do tickets for a Rangers game, all supporters are welcome. Situated across from Ibrox Subway Station, there is easy access to and from all city destinations and a beer garden area out the back where our customers can enjoy a drink. Come in for The Premier Rangers Supporters’ Matchday Experience in The Quintessential Rangers Supporters Pub. One Rangers… No Factions – http://www.thelouden.co.uk @TheLoudenTavern We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium – Ramsden’s Cup Final

Wednesday, 02 April 2014 13:00 Ready To Listen: Phase 1 Results Written by RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB THE results of the Rangers Ready To Listen fan engagement survey which was launched in February have now been analysed, evaluated and reviewed. An overwhelming 35,265 of our core support took part in the first step of the fan engagement programme which will help shape the future direction of the Club. Participants in the Fan engagement survey included: 50% of adult season ticket holders 83% were matchday attendees 5% from existing supporter groups 10% from overseas With 84% of supporters seeking a review of how the Club engages with fans and 68% feeling the supporters do not have a loud enough voice, it is clear the need for enhanced engagement with the Club should be a priority. One of the key findings and recommendations from the survey is the development of a fan representation board voted for by supporters and representing the interests of all fans including season ticket holders, overseas fans shareholders and families. Indeed, 84% of the fanbase supported the progression of this concept and this is an area we now need to explore further with the wider Rangers support. Fans were also asked for their thoughts on the potential for a membership scheme and 80% were in favour of developing such an initiative. We have listened to the response from fans and are now working on the development of Rangers membership with further fan input for launch over the summer and in advance of the 14/15 season. Supporters identified the top five best performing areas of the business as: Community/Charity Work Club Social Media Club website Safe Matchday Environment Hospitality The five most important aspects of the Club according to fans are: On-pitch performance Youth Development programme Overall direction and management of the Business Fan Engagement Matchday Experience The five most important statements relating to the Club from the list identified are: Proud of its rich history and tradition Open and effective relationship with its supporters Continually strives for sporting success Youth development is key to on-pitch success High standards of integrity and professionalism The most important issues for fans right now are a need for Honesty, Integrity and Transparency going forward, this was made clear in the majority of surveys completed. However, this is not surprising given events at the Club in recent years and the Board is ready to act on that feedback. Graham Wallace commented: "The Club wants to be open about the key issues highlighted in the Ready to Listen fan engagement survey and realises areas of concern like trust, transparency and honesty will not be improved overnight. We understand that trust must be earned and certainly appreciate supporters have had a difficult few years. "There are undoubtedly areas we can improve on and it is clear fans value a greater voice and involvement with the Club. We are listening to these views and will act accordingly. The Club values the feedback received as it will help us shape and ensure a sustainable future for Rangers. "We said at the outset that we wanted to engage with the 44,000 core supporters who attend matches regularly and we were therefore delighted that over 50% of adult season ticket holders took part and 83% of respondents attend games. "We believe that with the Club and fans working together we can impact positively on Rangers future performance and will now move forward into a more detailed phase in a number of areas that were identified." NEXT STEPS More than half of the survey participants advised that they would be keen to participate further in future supporter engagement initiatives to help shape the programme. Supporters were asked if they would be willing to engage with the Club to aid the development of certain areas within the business and the response was again overwhelming. Volunteers for each area are as follows: Ticketing; 6,567 Matchday Experience; 7,876 Hospitality; 3,132 Catering; 4,477 Retail/Merchandise; 6,088 Fan Engagement; 12,289 Club Media; 6,589 Customer Service; 5,409 Membership; 8,723 This next phase of follow-up research will help to define and create a formal fan engagement programme driven by the fans with the support of the Club via a specific fan engagement survey which will be issued next week. Specific communications on other areas of importance to the fans, including those listed above, will also start to be issued from next week and over the coming weeks. Thereafter, more focused face-to-face meetings with fans will be held to engage them on their opinions and insights across these areas with a view to having key initiatives and developments in place for the start of Season 14/15. The Club would like to thank all those who took part in this initial step in the Ready To Listen campaign. Your feedback is invaluable and we look forward to working together on the next steps to help shape the future direction of the Club. To view an infographic of the survey results click here http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6663-ready-to-listen-phase-1-results

Written by: Admin Saturday, 29th March 2014 It is with utter disbelief that once again our Club and it's support have been dragged into a series of incidents which has resulted in Vanguard Bears deciding to release a statement to outline where we stand with this RFFF mess. The recent legal action carried out by Sandy Easdale against Craig Houston is well documented, what has enraged the vast majority of donators to the RFFF is that certain factions, for reasons only they can explain, saw fit to first release their intentions on Mark Dingwall's FollowFollow forum, a forum which any supporter of any club can join and have a say, to put to a vote for acceptance of monies being taken from said fund to shore up Craig Houston's Legal Defence against Sandy Easdale, should this have made the courts. This action went against the vast majority of donators wishes, despite certain parties assuring everyone they spoke for the majority of the support. The RFFF was set up to fight our Club's corner against our detractors out there, of which there are many, sadly there are just as many from within the ranks of our support these days who are equally as damaging. Many put their hard earned cash into this fund in good faith, sadly thanks to certain individuals with nothing more than self-promotion and mischief on their minds have sought to put this at risk. The anger among the many donators has resonated around the globe, and no one can blame them for their anger thanks to this latest stunt. The seven committee members who voted to accept this should now find their positions in the RFFF untenable. If they had any dignity and feelings for the way in which their latest stunt has left the support enraged and suitably angered, they would resign with immediate effect. Knowing the background of some of them and their past antics, this would seem highly unlikely. It will now be down to the majority of enraged supporters who donated to the RFFF to demand their resignation, and with this in mind a decision must also be taken regards the next move to protect this money falling into the direction of self-promoters, with their own not-so-hidden agendas, to use as they see fit. It should be noted that the VB representative on this committee voted totally against any funds being utilised for anyone's legal defence funds against Sandy Easdale. We also vow to ensure that this cash will never fall into the hands of any self-appointed fans group leaders or hastily nailed together 'new age' fans groups either. We note also that Mark Dingwall in a recently released post on his own forum is once again imploring the support not to renew their season tickets for next season. We find this utterly astonishing that somone who relies on handouts from other supporters to attend matches - whenever he feels like turning up - should ask of many who hold season tickets, and have done so throughout their lives, to give up theirs so he can further destabilise our club and cause further harm to pursue his own and others agendas. VB once again will urge all of its members and beyond to ignore the rants of this troublemaker and self-promoter and to get fully behind the club in its time of need. Dingwall along with Chris Graham and other self-appointed and opinionated 'fans' speak only for a handful of rabble rousers and charlatans, we are sure the decent and vast majority of the Rangers support will see through their desperation to disrupt and destabilise our club and renew their season tickets when the time comes. This group of Charlatans will NEVER speak for the vast majority of our support, make no mistake about this. The Rangers Board now must act firmly and address those that would seek to harm both our Club's finances and reputation immediately, until that large boil is lanced and removed, the uncertainty and divisions will remain. http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/statement-on-the-rfff-committee.html

Rangers fans want the club to provide a facility by which they can pay extra monies to the club. That is the overwhelming message I am hearing from supporters who want to counter any shortfall from season ticket boycotts next season. Whilst the general perception is that any withholding of season ticket revenue will only actually be carried out by a small hardcore of rebels, loyal supporters are keen to make sure that there is no negative impact on club finances. I already know of bears who intend to buy extra season tickets and many more who might not go that far are still motivated to pay an extra sum on top of their season ticket money. In essence, fans want a fund set up whereby they can donate monies to the club. This would mean that when purchasing season tickets, they could donate an extra £25, £50 or £100 to the club. Another possibility is that when supporters buy merchandise at the Megastore, they are given the facility to pay change towards the fund. Similarly, collection cans could be placed in the food kiosks for bluenoses to stick their change into after buying grub. A donation button could be placed on the club website and events could be held by supporters club with the fund benefitting. I have not spoken to one Rangers fan who is not excited by the prospect of being able to chip in and help the club. This is not a begging bowl mentality by any manner of means – it is fans doing what they can to keep Rangers prosperous. The fund could, of course, be ringfenced for the playing pool or specific projects. It would be easily accounted for in the club accounts and could be monitored by an independent body. Far from it being a stopgap method to help the club through a difficult period, this fund could become an important method of non-equity financing over time. It also gives genuine supporters a chance to contribute to the club’s progress and gives them a say in the club’s destiny. If the money is used for the playing pool, it also helps fans feel good that the players they watch have been brought to the club partly by their own contributions. I think another benefit would be to help unite the divided support and give a focus to bluenoses. It also helps fans become proactive in a positive way. Many fans want to help the club at this moment in time but feel they have no outlet. At this critical point in history, the creation of a fund that fans can pay into purely for the benefit of Rangers Football Club is a great way to keep the wolf from the door and is another buffer against financial disaster. All those people who keep telling us that being the fan of a football team is far more than just being a consumer now have the opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and prove their argument. The principle is simple: If you love your team, step up and pay! Would you happily pay extra money to keep Rangers strong financially? If so, let me know in the Comments below or contact the club direct. http://www.rangers.co.uk

MICHAEL MOLS has challenged the Rangers board to prove they regard the club as more than just a cash cow to be milked dry and insists a number of former players are waiting in the wings to provide an international scouting network on the cheap. The 43-year-old Dutchman - who played up front for the Ibrox side in a more prosperous era between 1999 and 2004 - travelled to Gayfield to watch the weekend's 2-1 SPFL League 1 victory over Arbroath and revealed that an ex-players' collective is ready to help reconstruct a now nonexistent element of the infrastructure at their former employers. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/rangers-can-call-on-international-rescue-mols.23828999 I don't have access to the full article.

Supporting Rangers has never been quite so difficult. Doesn’t matter if it’s new beneficial club owners from one year to the next, executive directors that are replaced quarter by quarter or turgid on-the-field performances which would struggle to excite the most positive of football fans, it’s not easy to find a bear without a sore head nowadays. This headache soon becomes even worse when you try to examine the minefield that forms our supporter group landscape. Let’s go through them for clarity – take a deep breath: a) The Rangers Supporters Association – the oldest group which represent a range of RSCs all over the world. Nowadays, pretty small, perhaps old fashioned and primarily scoped to deal with ticketing issues you’ll nevertheless find their latest secretary Drew Roberton commenting in the media on a regular basis. b) The Rangers Supporters Trust – an independent group formed in 2003 mainly working towards fan ownership via share purchasing; the RST account for up to 2000 members. Their chair Gordon Dinnie is also often credited in the media on their behalf. c) NARSA and ORSA – two foreign associations which look after the interests of the North American and Oceanic RSCs respectively. It’s not often they’ll be quoted in the media but they do have lots of members with a fair amount of clout behind the scenes. NARSA especially have a solid historic relationship with the club. d) The Rangers Supporters Assembly – the original umbrella group which encompasses all of the above (and more) and was setup around ten years ago. Since then they’ve really struggled to capture the imagination of those they insist they represent (including season book holders). President Andy Kerr remains vocal in the media and usually aligned with a) and b) above. The future of the organisation within the club since the 2012 administration is unclear. e) Sons of Struth (SoS) – a more recent phenomenon is two fans that have been at the forefront of various protests against figures at the club. Most controversially, their spokesperson Craig Houston was threatened with legal action by club director Sandy Easdale for defamatory comments on a social network page. This has prompted much comment which we’ll explore further below. f) Union of Fans – even more recent is this new umbrella group which is made up of a), b), d), e) and the two Ibrox singing sections. Again, this group appear most concerned with the short-term future of club and their statements are geared towards this political aim. Spokesman Chris Graham is a keen blogger on the club and is featured regularly on two popular websites. g) Buy Rangers and Rangers First – not to be outdone, we now have two share vehicles specifically interested in achieving fan ownership via the purchase of shares as part of government backed schemes. The former is organised by the RST while the latter is a new development also promoted by Supporters Direct. At first glance both appear attractive to the interested supporter. h) Rangers Fans Fighting Fund (RFFF) – set up in 2012 this fund was put together to raise money for the club post-administration. Despite having Assembly and official club connotations, the Fund has been blighted by a lack of communication and transparency. Indeed, its website is no longer available and uncertainty remains with respect to the £500,000 surplus in its account. i) The Rest – as well as the TEN groups above, there are a variety of other clusters of fans which one may or may not perceive as ‘formal’ groups. These are often backed up with websites/blogs and can be made up of thousands of shared members; though usually these can be concentrated down into smaller lobbies of key opinion formers from group to group. It’s difficult to recognise all such bodies in a formal sense but there’s no doubting their contribution can be worthy. The above really is quite incredible when put down on paper – even with what I’d concede is a very superficial outline of each group. Quite simply, there’s no wonder confusion and division exists when we have so many groups all competing against each other. Despite regular assurances to the contrary (and so-called umbrella groups speaking for all), the chances of genuine fan unity and convincing representation remain as far away as ever. This is confirmed by the most recent issue which has caused further splits in the support. As touched on above, the Sons of Struth has been one of the most prominent groups of late. Despite only being made up of two individual supporters with no formal constitution, their stadium protests and media profile have resulted in much debate over recent months. Undoubtedly in my view their lobbying of Rangers and its support has contributed to the decision-making of the club hierarchy – even if I may also disagree with their methods and words from time to time. This is especially disappointing when using (or allowing) derogatory language to make their point. As someone who has experienced legal contact in such matters previously, there’s a fine line between fair criticism, unfair falsehoods and petty name-calling. Therefore, it was no surprise to see the main SoS figure Craig Houston served with a legal notice by Sandy Easdale to desist from such alleged behaviour or face a £200,000 court action. At this point the debate became polarised with those generally supportive of the SoS eager to source funds from the hitherto inactive RFFF to help Mr Houston in his defence against Mr Easdale. However, this suggestion seemed at best unlikely and at worst flawed given the RFFF monies were primarily setup to be used for the club only (despite some cash being used to pay small oldco debts such as Dunfermline Football Club in 2012). With that in mind, even those who had sympathy with the SoS predicament felt it was best a separate fund was setup should legal action go ahead. Hence, it was a great surprise to many bears when the RFFF subsequently voted to put the decision to a general vote of fans rather than immediately reject the suggestion. Despite this curiosity it could be argued this was perhaps the most reasonable course of action. After all, while many fans didn’t agree with this non-club appropriation of funds, what should happen if another more popular non-club opportunity arose: should it be declined automatically or debated by the fund contributors? Furthermore, the volunteer RFFF committee were put in place to act on our behalf so it’s difficult to argue with the democratic process being followed – even if the lack of clarity surrounding the decision (and RFFF work generally) is of valid concern. In any case, no matter our thoughts, the reaction has been furious from some quarters with one website and NARSA both calling for the resignation of those who voted for the issue to be decided via a ‘general meeting of fans’. Suffice to say the response to that has been equally negative with all sorts of insults permitted in some online communities. Once again the fan-base is split – often based on their website or group of choice rather than actually examining the issue without prejudice. Indeed it’s this kind of division that is now becoming very difficult to ignore when looking at most issues related to the club. Rather than such subjects being analysed with balance and in unison, we have some coming to most debates with a pre-determined opinion already in place. Quite simply if person/site/group A says one thing, you can be sure person/site/group B will say another and vice-versa. Such disagreement may actually be healthy in some respects but when it is increasingly accompanied by the kind of nonsense we usually see for those hostile to our club then such puerile debate just becomes counter-productive. Is it any wonder our club and fan-base have been taken advantage of in recent years when we can’t agree on the most basic of issues? Unfortunately, there’s no easy solution to this ongoing tribal warfare. Existing ‘umbrella’ groups have tried and failed for many years to capture the imagination of the widespread support while those not already interested in such ‘political’ matters won’t be swayed by a long list of fan organisations they may struggle to identify with. In addition, resignations, fall-outs and abuse appear to tarnish any good work such groups do. Meanwhile, a club fighting with itself on a month-to-month basis appears to have neither the will nor the way (not to mention the funds) to put in place a new scheme which can accommodate fans of every possible background. Yet, in my opinion, if such a group is to be successful, from the club it must come. It needs that formal official status, along with the backing of high-profile relevant figures, to take fan representation from social clubs and websites to the boardroom. However the only certainty is that when such a proposal does see the light of day, it may be strangled at birth by a minority of people who will always insist upon throwing out the baby with the bathwater for the most ridiculous of arguments. In the meantime, the moderate (and usually silent) majority can only hope for better. And until we concentrate ten bizarrely disparate groups into one then that day may be a long time coming. What part will you play in achieving that positive change: are you part of the problem or the solution? Will the real Rangers support please stand up?

https://twitter.com/gerrymcculloch1/status/450025504805257216 Gerry McCulloch ‏@gerrymcculloch1 @bjm1979 @Eddiek62 ebt's undoubtedly gave sporting advantage in my opinion. We'll see what result appeal brings.

..........gets Rangers fans all fired up to renew Old Firm rivalries. IT was a terrific quote. Nauseating so far as its sentiment was concerned, but a marvellous sound-bite never the less. It was the one Dave King delivered about some Rangers fans who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put shoes on their children’s feet because they wanted to use the money to buy their season ticket for Ibrox. This was portrayed as evidence of the extraordinary degree of passion some fans have exhibited for the club. It’s nothing of the kind. Putting football before your family’s needs is not and never will be a badge of honour. Indeed it is a source of everlasting shame and there shouldn’t be the slightest hint of dubiety about that. But Dave wasn’t indulging in some emotional flight of fantasy, dreamed up one night while he was lying on a sun lounger as dusk fell on his exotic garden and swimming pool in Johannesburg and thinking about his place of birth. These people really do exist. I was once abroad in the company of an old friend who had a long and illustrious career with Celtic. We had been covering one of the club’s European ties and having a post-match refreshment before turning in when he was accosted by a fan. One who proudly told him his children hadn’t had a holiday in any of the previous three years so that he could travel the continent to support his team. The supporter had managed to turn denial where his family was concerned into some kind of imagined virtue He may have expected the Hoops hero to offer heartfelt words of praise but it was all the ex-player could do to maintain self-restraint after the interloper had invaded his company to spout his ?nonsense. Here’s the thing, though. ?Rangers’ survival as a viable concern is essential to the future well-being of the game in this country. The written media have done their usual first-class job of turning Celtic’s latest title-winning exercise into more column inches than would have been devoted to the Second Coming. But the reality is we need, heaven help us, the return of the rivalry that brings out those whose distorted sense of family values is an affront to decency. That also means unleashing the younger element upon us as they represent another part of the baggage that comes with re-establishing the Old Firm. Rangers and Celtic will play an Under-20 league match at Murray Park on Tuesday afternoon. That’s because the number of police who would’ve been required to enforce security if the game had been played ?in public view would’ve been financially inadvisable in times of austerity. It would have been interesting for normal folk to monitor and contrast the clubs’ youth development set-ups. Particularly at a time when 17-year-old Liam Henderson is scoring in a match against Partick Thistle that confirmed Celtic as league champions. But the youngsters’ match would have been hijacked, as those in authority well know, by the flare throwers, the singers of questionable songs and the rest of the misfits who would leave a family audience in fear of their safety. The match would’ve become an irrelevance to both sets of fans while they hurled sectarian insults at each other. It was the business of using rivalry as a basis for thuggery that put King’s policeman father off football when Dave was growing up. But one day, and it’s not too far off now, we’re going to have to deal with a first-team Old Firm derby that troubles society at large while helping enhance the product known as the SPFL Premiership. King knew exactly the right button to press when he started his propaganda campaign to win control of Rangers by instilling the fear of Celtic winning Ten in a Row in the minds of his club’s fans. And that’ll prey on their minds longer than Rangers’ captain Lee McCulloch’s talk about next Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup Final being a “massive” game. The match with Raith Rovers is a by-product of a club fallen on hard times. Nothing more and nothing less. Only those who would contemplate denying the weans shoes to buy a season ticket will think otherwise. Now the Ibrox board have countered King by saying that fans will threaten Rangers’ viability as a going concern if they decide to withhold season-ticket money The fans are now trapped between two sides, each trading on their innermost fears. And gullibility. I was speaking to a fan on the radio the other night who told me Celtic qualifying for the Champions League group stages next season would be a greater achievement than winning the European Cup in 1967. It was breathtaking nonsense, and a moment to ponder whether some fans actually understand history. Celtic were the first British, not Scottish, winners of the competition. Idolising Neil Lennon's perfectly all right, but distorting the truth while tarnishing Jock Stein's memory isn't. Neil would surely be the first to agree. No-one's dismissing his achievements. But there must be a sense of perspective.

My gran wasn't too impressed with Colin Stein. Nothing to do with the player himself of course, but everything to do with the grandson who muddied himself on her back green in Anniesland trying to emulate the great man's latest goal every Saturday. The following day being Sunday, there was no way she would take her grandson to church looking anything less than respectful and appropriate for The Lord's House. So the breeks were hand washed in the big kitchen sink, scrubbed at the knees with a scrubbing brush before being rinsed, and then wrung out on the huge brass taps. Depending on the weather they were either then hung out on the verandah, allowing the employees of Barr and Stroud, the factory directly across from my grandmother's tenement, to know that Colin Stein's young protégée was in residence. In the event of inclement weather, an extra lump of coal was placed on the fire and the trousers placed on a screen nearby. Nowadays of course they would be straight into the washing machine and then the tumble dryer - Sorted. Often we take for granted the things which makes life's journey far more comfortable or enjoyable. Having them taken away for whatever reason can leave us with the prospect of having to do things as in days gone by, a fact I was reminded of that recently. Rumour reached me that our supporters bus, The Monifieth Loyal, had folded leaving me facing the prospect of a long solitary drive, to and from Ibrox drive every other week. (The fact that it would also mean an abstention from alcohol on match days was a minor matter. Honestly) It was not something I relished having discovered the considerable benefits of the local supporters bus. It was relief to read a few days later on Twitter that the rumours were totally unfounded and it was business as usual. Whilst supporter's buses may be an alternative form of transport for those of us who can drive, for others they are the only form of transport available. For those in our community who are less than firm, less than able, the supporters bus with it's unique and personalised stops and pick ups is often the margin of success in them overcoming insurmountable difficulties. The sight of the infirm and disabled overcoming the cruel hand life has dealt them to watch their beloved Rangers, is one which is truly inspiring. Then of course there is the “social” aspect of the bus. Yesterday at Gayfield I bumped into and old friend of mine I hadn’t seen for years who promptly introduced me to members and organisers of his bus. Let's just say every one of them were in particularly high spirits, I would imagine the crack on the bus home would have been worth the admission money alone. But it goes further than this. For those of who through work or other commitments have been forced to leave the mother nest of Glasgow for pastures new, the supporter's bus brings together a network of exiles who otherwise may have been strangers to one another, and the many considerable benefits which that brings. The local supporter's bus offers many benefits, financial, friendship, social networking, information, opinions and convenience to name but a few. If you currently don’t travel via one I would encourage you to try it. You will soon find it is not one of life's luxuries, after a few experience you place it in the “essentials” category - and there will be no going back to “the old ways”.

GRAHAM WALLACE, the Rangers chief executive, has revealed that manager Ally McCoist will learn his budget for next season before his review of the business is concluded. Wallace is coming towards the end of his 120-day analysis of all aspects of the club's business, and with Rangers promoted to the SPFL Championship, the manager had revealed a desire to make signings, despite the club's precarious financial position, as highlighted by the release yesterday of their interim results. Now Wallace plans to give McCoist an indication of his likely budget before his review is concluded next month. "In terms of the overall financial number [for the playing budget] we will agree what that is and then work within that on the playing side," said the chief executive. "In terms of determining our football player needs and squad needs that does not wait until the end of the 120 days. "Ally McCoist and myself are in constant dialogue in terms of assessing the current squad. He has his views on areas he would like to strengthen for next season and we are working on looking at the alternatives in terms of meeting that need. Once we finalise the overall financial budget that will give us a clearer indication of what we want to do. It would be wrong for anybody to think that everybody is sitting on their hands waiting on the outcome of the review." http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/wallace-plans-early-budget-for-mccoist.23814048

Looks like he's going to be replaced by Neil Warnock at Forest. Wouldn't require any compensation now...

We are delighted to announce that Walter Smith has agreed to do a night with us in aid of the Rangers Disabled Supporters Club. I cannot state how immensely proud we are to have secured a night with one of the greatest managers in our club’s history. Tickets £20 and include a bite to eat and are available at http://www.thelouden.co.uk/events.html Doors will open at 7pm for the event with the Q&A scheduled to begin at 8pm. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis and all ticket sales are final and will be collected on the door on the night. One Rangers… No Factions – http://www.thelouden.co.uk, @TheLoudenTavern We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises

MARCH 25, 2014 UNION OF FANS STATEMENT 25TH MARCH 2014 by Union of Fans The Union of Fans (UoF) is delighted that Dave King has publicly stated his impressive plans for Rangers via a number of newspaper interviews. His vision for the club is extremely welcome as is the personal financial commitment he is willing to make. Like all Rangers fans, Dave King and UoF want to see the club back operating to high standards on and off the pitch and in the boardroom. We firmly believe that the involvement of Dave King is the best chance of those standards being attained in the short, medium and long term. It was clear from our discussions with him last week that the £30m+ Mr King is willing to invest is crucial to take the club back to a competitive level and improve the infrastructure and facilities. The club has been neglected, that cannot continue. Only once this investment has been made will Rangers be able to live within its means, something we all want for the longer term future. Until then Dave King has made it clear he will do what is necessary to get Rangers back to where we belong and where we can be self-sustainable. It is also important that Dave King chose to make his views public to the widest possible range of Rangers supporters by conducting interviews with four different newspapers with a combined readership of over 2M people. There can no longer be any criticism of him only speaking privately to supporters groups, though he has pledged to continue that important dialogue in order that the Union of Fans can keep people updated on events. We would now ask the board to indicate publicly, as a matter of urgency, whether they are prepared to accept Dave King’s offer of massive investment. The ball is firmly with the Rangers PLC board, in particular with Chief Executive Officer, Graham Wallace and Chairman, David Somers. Dave King has put a figure on what Rangers need and has shown his commitment to, and ambition for, the club he has supported all his life. Do Mr Wallace and Mr Somers agree with his figures and if they do, how do they propose to raise this large sum of money without Dave King? These are extremely serious corporate matters, therefore they are matters for the PLC board and not for any small, minority shareholder who is not a member of that board and who has no such high level corporate experience. The corporate reputations of Mr Wallace and Mr Somers now rest on their next move. We also note with dismay that Rangers director Sandy Easdale is continuing to pursue what we consider to be a confrontational and frivolous course of legal action against Sons of Struth. We would ask him to remember what it means to be a Rangers director and act accordingly if he wishes to enjoy the privileges of that position.

Alasdair Lamont ‏@BBCAlLamont 1m Rangers transfer Laxey £1m loan to fan and shareholder George Letham at a reduced interest rate.

http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/a-shameful-state-of-play.html

IF, LIKE me, you’re proud of the Scottish Cup being the oldest national football trophy in the world you might have issues with it copying other inferior johnny-come-lately tournaments. I’m thinking of the screeching pop music, the balsa-wood stage for the winners, the celebratory bouncing, even the foliage in the managers’ lapels. You were first, Scottish, do your own thing. Don’t be bullied by the Champions League into moving from sacred Saturday to Sunday. And – favourites of this column – let’s bring back the massed pipes and drums and the Alsatian obstacle-course. Some of those changes are modernisms and maybe we have to move with the times. But every year our clubs are writing the cup’s history, a dutiful task like that of the trophy’s engraver. And when future generations of football students and anoraks open up Wikipedia at season 2013-14, what will they see? That Rangers played their semi-final at Ibrox, their home ground. Seriously, that has to be a joke. What an all-consuming tale this is. Truly, our cup runneth over. There’s stupidity, arrogance, incompetence, intransigence, fatuousness, our-club’s-bigger-than-your-club juvenalia, delusions of grandeur, you name it. Let’s deal first with the delusions of grandeur. The Scottish Football Association, who announced as far back as last October that Ibrox would host both last-four ties due to Hampden being out of action, have in the midst of the rammy tried to cite Euro precedent. The Champions League final venue is confirmed a whole season in advance, they point out, and you’ve got to forward-plan. Who are they kidding? Without wishing to contradict myself, the Scottish Cup is not the Champions League. It does not need six months of planning. George Peat, the former SFA president, recalled seasons in the League Cup where the Scottish league would have less than a week to arrange all-ticket ties. Peat said that while the SFA would have signed a contract for Ibrox he couldn’t understand why they didn’t have a plan B in the event of Rangers reaching the semis. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson reckoned he had a pretty good idea why: money. All current SFA chief executive Stewart Regan, pictured right, was interested in was the commercial benefits, he claimed. “Obviously looking after the sponsors is more important than it being a neutral venue.” Certainly Ibrox getting the semis and Celtic Park having the final sounds very SFA: a divvying up in the grand old tradition. But I do find it astonishing that no one in a blazer thought the cup could pan out like this. If no one did, requiring the plan B that Peat was talking about, then you have to wonder what kind of brains trust is running the game. The SFA have tried to pass the buck for being aware that Ibrox was the home of a club who potentially had semi-final aspirations back to the rest of Scottish football, saying that any concerns should have been raised at the time of the decision. It is here that the story becomes a bit murkier. You can find two different Dundee United responses. Yes, we had concerns and raised them then. No, we didn’t because it would have been presumptuous to suggest we’d be involved in the semis. But this isn’t the crucial aspect, and the second response would have been perfectly acceptable. The duty for organising one of the oldest club football competitions in the world, and avoiding the complete and utter embarrassment of one team having home advantage in their favour to reach the final, rests entirely with the SFA and it is both laughable and chilling that they appear not to have anticipated this could happen, or had a contingency plan, or were unprepared to change the venue when, as Peat says, they still had the best part of a month to do so. The bickering between Rangers and Dundee United was caused by the SFA, although the individual reactions of the clubs were fairly predictable. United laying into the game’s rulers, angry at the SFA’s tone, arguing that given the number of talented young footballers they were producing for the greater good they didn’t deserve such treatment. And Rangers, in the squabble over how many tickets United should receive, labelling their fans glory-hunters. Ally McCoist chose this moment to boast about Rangers’ bigger support. The last time United had been in a semi, against Celtic, Hampden was only half-full. His club’s fans didn’t just turn out for semis, McCoist said, but all games. Not true, of course – Ibrox wasn’t packed for the quarter-final against Albion Rovers – but the basic point hardly needed to be made: a lot of people like to watch Rangers do their special thing. The issue then became ludicrous with McCoist claiming no special benefits for his men from playing in the distinctive Govan air, with yon majestic Broomloan Stand rising up behind them and the classic criss-cross detailing by the great stadium architect Archibald Leitch so known to the team, like the tattoo on the back of a hand. “There’s very little to be taken from home advantage the higher you go in football,” he argued, before being quickly backed up by his striker Jon Daly. Sorry guys, but you’re talking tripe. Daly would not be saying “I don’t see Ibrox as being an advantage” if he was still a Dundee United player and McCoist would not be dismissing the venue as being of no significance if Rangers were facing a Scottish Cup final at Celtic Park against … Celtic. This too was among the scenarios of the SFA’s “planning” last October. They’ve avoided that, but a semi at the Big Hoose featuring its occupants is definitely happening. To be fair to McCoist and Thompson, they’ve toned down the language since the rumpus kicked off. But 12 April is currently shaping up as a dread day in the football calendar rather than one for families to enjoy. The SFA can still change the venue and they should. As things stand they’re doing no favours to Rangers save for stoking the defiance of their own fans and the conspiracy theories of the rest. They’re doing no favours to Dundee United who’ve been dealt a grossly unfair hand for sure but must be wondering if making such a stink could cause their young team to think their abilities to win are being doubted. Most of all, though, they’re discrediting the grand old Scottish Cup. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/aidan-smith-sfa-should-change-semi-final-venue-1-3350659

.......but I'll be happier sitting among our fans, says Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson. THOMPSON talks to HUGH KEEVINS as he stands firm in the face of the latest controversy over Scottish Cup semi-final tickets. DUNDEE UNITED chairman Stephen Thompson has paid a heavy personal price for holding strong opinions. Assailants have done community service for their threatening behaviour. His mobile phone number is changed as soon as it falls into the wrong hands. And even the salubrious surroundings of the Old Course Hotel at St Andrews were recently unable to provide him with a sanctuary from the problems connected with being the high-profile chairman of a successful football club. The glib summary of anti-social behaviour as it relates to people in the public eye is that abuse “goes with the territory”. Thompson sees it as the cost of defending his club’s position, which is why he was again thrust into the limelight with his protests over the choice of Ibrox as the venue for Dundee United’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers on April 12. It’s not that the man who succeeded his late father Eddie as Tannadice chairman six years ago, having been a board member for five years before that, goes out of his way to look for trouble. When you’re in charge of a club that’s eaten up £6million of your family’s money, you don’t look for a show of gratitude that will never arrive. However, you do feel entitled to have your say if you feel aggrieved about something relating to the object of your highly expensive affection. As we sat in the boardroom at Tannadice, Thompson said: “I would have had a different, less stressful life if the club hadn’t been my dad’s passion, which I have inherited. “The money devoted to Dundee United could have set my family up for generations to come after the sale of the Morning, Noon and Night business we ran. “Now it’s millions of pounds that will never be seen again. But that was years ago and I don’t even think about it any more. “I know I’ll never get gratitude because that’s not how football works and I’m not in the game for gratitude in any case. “But I do love the club and I still go to the game with my scarf on, the way my father did.” But when United go to Ibrox for their cup tie, Thompson will sit in the Broomloan Stand housing the bulk of the club’s travelling support. It’s what you might term a strategic withdrawal in the interests of good order since Thompson is still, wrongly, held up to be a leading protagonist in the move to have the Ibrox club relocated in Scottish football’s bottom tier after they went into liquidation. He said: “I didn’t put Rangers in that position. I wasn’t even the first person from another club to speak out about what should happen when the newco asked to be allowed to stay in what was then the SPL. “I think Vladimir Romanov at Hearts was the first one to do that but he lived in Lithuania and I lived in Dundee. And people need to take their anger out on someone. “It hasn’t been funny over the past couple of years and when I got verbal abuse at the Old Course Hotel recently I did find myself wondering again why I’m in this business. “There’s been a price to be paid on a personal level but when Rangers’ situation was being discussed by the SPL clubs I had to listen to my team’s fans. “They were telling us they wouldn’t buy season tickets for Tannadice if United voted to let Rangers stay in the SPL. And pre-season sales that would normally have been around 4000-strong were reduced to 1500 tickets sold. The fans had made their intentions clear. “But that was two years ago and we have to move on. “I’m not snubbing the directors’ box at Ibrox on April 12. There will be a representative of the club in the boardroom before and after the match. “I’ll be in with the United fans because it’s something I do from time to time. I think I’m a down to earth man in that respect. I’ll be happier there on the day.” Winning the Scottish Cup is something Thompson experienced against Ross County at Hampden in 2010. And his memory of that time allows the listener to understand why the chairman this week campaigned to give his team the best venue and the most substantial backing he could in order to help them reach another final. He said: “My father saved this club. When he took over in 2002 we were shedding money at a frightening rate. “At our agm on Thursday night I was able to stand up and announce a profit for the third time in the past four years. We had a debt that peaked at £7m and now stands at £2.1m. Dundee United are in control of our own destiny and one of my ambitions is to be in charge here when we owe nothing to anyone. “For the first time in my 11 years as a board member I’m not worried about money but the game isn’t just about the club’s accounts. “When we brought the Cup back to Tannadice after beating Ross County my wife and I were the last two people to leave the ground following the open-topped bus drive through the city. “We put the Cup in the front seat of a taxi and the driver happened to be a devoted Dundee supporter. He asked me if he could touch the trophy and I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ “The Cup went to every primary and secondary school in the city. It was in every ward of Ninewells Hospital because just seeing it had this effect of making people happy. “You can forget the way football does that to people.” But even if United win access to another final at Rangers’ expense it won’t allow the chairman to exit the consequences which are attached to success. For the first time, Thompson has spoken about the possibility of losing his much talked-about youngsters and his manager, Jackie McNamara. He said: “My father would have loved watching this team with Andrew Robertson, Gary Mackay-Steven, John Souttar and Ryan Gauld. “We sold 650 half-season tickets because they were so good in the first part of the championship and people wanted to see them. That’s unheard of for us. “We’re not under any pressure to sell players because there’s no bank debt at the club any more and therefore no need to reduce borrowings on an annual basis. “But if the right offers come in then players will inevitably go because they’ll want to broaden their horizons and we’ll have a responsibility to the United fans who gave the club ‘friendly’ loans to see they get their money back in a percentage of the transfer fees. “Jackie’s a managerial talent and he’ll move on one day as well, although hopefully not for a few years yet. “We’ve never talked about it between us but if Jackie does move it will be because he has continued to be successful with Dundee United.” And what about the chairman who freely admits to having been turned into an insomniac by the demands of high office? The man who went to see Manchester United play Liverpool last Sunday with a ticket bought in a charity auction and suddenly realised he was enjoying himself because the final score didn’t matter to him. He said: “I don’t sleep properly because I’m always thinking about the future of the club. Uptight is the norm for me. “At the end of my father’s first season in charge we had to avoid defeat to Inverness to stay in the top flight while knowing relegation would have cost the club £2m. That’s the pressure you live under. “My belief is there will be some form of regionalised European league within the next five years and I want United to be ready if that opportunity arises. “There’s no given right to be anywhere and no rightful place for any club. You have to earn whatever you get. “I’ll keep going until we are debt free and have money in the bank. “I’m like my dad because I’m all or nothing and I stick to what I believe in. “I could keep schtum about certain things but I won’t because I need to be true to myself when I’m the majority shareholder at Tannadice.” That’s 53 per cent of the action and 100 per cent of the hassle when it comes to the events of this week.

The quality and passion of posters in my Comments section is well-known. The haters gnash their teeth but many Rangers fans admire the community of loyal bluenoses we have on here. Every now and then we get a belter post that simply has to be given a wider platform. Here is one from The Kilty – a regular poster who always has something constructive to say. If it were me, I’d get 30,000 leaflets printed with this on it for the next home game:- For some ungodly reason Rangers fans all see themselves as corporate business men and tax experts. Rangers fans, unless they are shareholders, have no inherent right to be given any transparency. The business dealings of the club have nothing whatsoever to do with any season ticket holder or ticket buying fan unless they have, as I said, become a shareholder in Rangers International Football Club plc and that is the bottom line. The Board only need answer to the shareholders. For some reason this notion of fan power and a false importance have been placed on the rank and file, along with their lust for knowledge that quite frankly many could not understand, including myself. This may spring from bad business conducted by the club in the past but it still does not give any fan the right to have any commercially sensitive information divulged to them. I am sick hearing phrases like “Who are BPH?“ and “We want transparency” as well as “Where did the money go?” We also hear “The Rangers performance was rubbish – we need better players” which then leads to “These players are getting paid too much” and the old favourite of “The board are ****s” with moans that they took bonuses. Unless you are a shareholder, none of that is any of your business. I have heard the standard excuse: “Well ah paid ma season ticket money so am entitled” but sorry, thats not the case. There are a vast multitude of Rangers fans that spend more per week from their wages in Tescos and Asda and some on beers and spirits so by the same argument if I spend £50 a week on Tennents lager I should say who is on the board of the company. My Mrs spends easy £80 a week in Tescos – do you think they would tell me who their investors are ?? Or that I could get a group of my pals together and stand outside with blue cards waving them so that they would listen? As for King, what he is doing is nothing short of trying to muscle his way in using blackmail. Is that what the norm is now? Get off to a great start, take control by default but when he doesn’t do as the fans want, is he a **** or does he have to go too? It has been said often and ignored just as much that you can take a whale out of the pool and put it in a bowl; it’s still a whale with all the needs of that whale. Rangers are that whale, stuck in a fish bowl. Did it cost any less to run Ibrox last year compared to the year before? Did Murray Park suddenly become a free enterprise zone ? We are in the same position as many companies are in and that is experiencing temporary cash flow problems. Many forget with all the transparency gurgling and ****s out pish that these men on the board have ensured we are debt free. All that on the back of reduced season ticket prices due to the division that was being played in. Rangers don’t need transparency, they need STABILITY. That’s what makes teams win by good margins and that’s what makes the share price rise. It’s what gets sponsors, it’s what makes individuals and corporate investors want to part with their investment cash. At the present time no one wants to put money in just to get told what to do by delusional fans or have pathetic displays of disloyalty to men who put their hands in their own pockets to buy into our Club. Im sorry but at the end of the day your ticket gets you in to be entertained at a football match – that’s where it stops unless, as I said, you are a shareholder in the management company. If you are not entertained, don’t go back; that’s your choice. I know that emotions etc complicate things but that is the bottom line.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/03/19/scottish-cup-success-would-mean-rangers-have-had-a-better-season-than-celtic-4642294/ Thoughts?

The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST) is deeply concerned by the comments attributed to the Arab Trust Chairman Stephen Hughes. Specifically that he feels Dundee United fans would not be safe at the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final between the two sides. In making this statement, Mr Hughes does not provide any evidence to back up his wildly inaccurate claims. Unfortunately, it would appear that the Arab Trust is actively trying to create additional tension between the clubs and fans ahead of the game. Furthermore, the Arab Trust does have a history of trying to antagonise the Rangers support, having called the club and the support 'huns' on numerous occasions on their official Twitter account. We would like to point out that, in 2011, Rangers were awarded the SPL Family Champions Award at a time when the Dundee United Chairman was on the SPL board. There is also a great deal of irony in Mr Hughes' fanciful claims given that an Arab Trust board member is actively promoting a 'family only' bus travelling to the game. This would appear to be yet another unprovoked attack trying to damage the fantastic reputation of the Rangers support. Recent remarks regarding safety attributed to United chairman, Stephen Thomson are also of concern, and we would expect the Rangers board to be actively seeking clarification in this regard

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6545-club-statement

Hi, I'm an open and avid proponent of Rangers First - I really believe this can be great for the club and the support. I have been sending this out to my contacts list and thought it could be worth an airing on here: As all Rangers Supporters know it has been a turbulent few years. We seem to move from one crisis to another and I think we are all getting to the stage where the common consensus is that something must be done. The average fan is seeking to have a more open relationship with the club, people who previously had no interest in the on goings behind the scenes at the club are now demanding transparency and openness. There is a swell of support for increased fan involvement at Rangers Football Club – and something that has previously not received a great deal of wide support is now become a possibility. Rangers First is a fan led membership vehicle, backed by Supporters Direct – a government funded organisation, for fan ownership that is seeking to purchase shares in Rangers in order to achieve the goal of the fans having transparent authoritative consultation with the club. The goal is to ensure that every Rangers fan knows exactly where the club are and where we are going – the advantages of which will lead to greater fan engagement of the club ensuring our illustrious history continues into the future. Once that initial goal has been achieved Rangers First has the capability of increasing the revenue potential of the club in order to help us regain our position as the dominant club of Scottish Football. Rangers First is a CIC (community interest company) that is set up to benefit the Rangers Community. There are currently over 900 members who have signed up to Rangers First within two weeks of the launch and have already donated various levels of finance with membership starting from as little as £5 per month in order to allow as many fans as possible to have a say in the club. It was agreed at the initial meetings that Rangers First is not interested in getting involved with the internal politics at the club (who is on the board does not matter) – we are only interested in getting the fans a voice to ensure that they stay engaged with the club and to help ensure that Rangers stays the greatest and most successful club in the country. We are focused on community involvement and fan governance - you will not see any controversial statements coming from us. We are a democratic organisation that seeks to give the fans a voice. No fan involved will receive any financial reward or payment – we are all volunteers trying to make a difference at the club. Ideally we are looking for 1872 people to buy a life membership at £500 which will give us enough cash to buy circa 5% of the club. 5% being an important number in a plc allowing Rangers First several capabilities including the ability to call an EGM. For the good of Rangers, and The Rangers Support, I would ask of you as a supporter of the club to consider becoming a member of Rangers First. If you could take the time to look at http://www.rangersfirst.org it would be greatly appreciated. I myself, and my family are all taking out life memberships in Rangers First as well as a monthly contribution. We are also donating our shares bought at the IPO to Rangers First. This is something I believe can be the vehicle that ensures we get back to where we should be. Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I’m sure we can make a difference. We Are The People - Any constructive feedback?

Tomorrow is an important fixture in our season. Rangers have the chance to progress to the last four of the Scottish Cup and we are looking forward to a cracking match! Come down to The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium for the Quintessential Televised Football Viewing Experience and watch the match amongst your own. We will be showing tomorrow’s game live on our six 60” TVs in full high definition – the way televised football should be shown. We invite any Rangers Supporter who can make it to the vicinity of the home of fantasy football to join us in celebrating the continuing unbroken history of the most successful team in the history of the game. Renowned for our quick service, our staff will ensure you never have to wait long to get a drink. We provide an atmosphere second to none and for clarification – we don’t and never have had a cover charge. Come in for The Premier Rangers Supporters’ Matchday Experience in The Quintessential Rangers Supporters Pub. And of course we will still be providing our much sought after free pies Situated across from Ibrox Subway Station, there is easy access to and from all city destinations. If you are not able to attend our premises we hope that you will use your local Rangers Supporters pub or club. All Rangers minded venues need your help – use them or lose them! Watch The Game… Support Your Own We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club One Rangers… No Factions – http://www.thelouden.co.uk, @TheLoudenTavern *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises

A LEAGUE One title may have been toasted a mere five days ago but it is tomorrow’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay against Albion Rovers that will determine how this season is remembered for Rangers. In the unlikely event of the fourth-tier part-timers ousting opponents that operate with the second-highest wage bill in the country, their campaign will be captured in that moment. Rangers’ Nicky Law is fully alive to what is on the line at New Douglas Park. “The tie does define our season, because if we lose it, I don’t know what the reaction would be... but I am guessing obviously it wouldn’t be good. With all due respect to Albion we should be winning and bad as we played in the first game, we had chances to do so then.” Progress to the semi-final and an Ibrox meeting with Dundee United would see Rangers “looked upon differently” and not as favourites, Law acknowledged, for just about the first time in a season. “I think Rangers at full strength in the SPL back three years ago lost to Dundee United at home, so you are never guaranteed to win the Scottish Cup.” United have, in fact, eliminated Rangers from the Scottish Cup three times in the past four years. The off-field wranglings over ownership and never-ending concerns over the viability of the club will eclipse anything that happens on the field short of Rangers becoming the first third tier team to win Scottish Cup. But Law would argue that such is the hostility towards the football produced by the Ibrox men, even that redemptive outcome would not spare them from criticism. “If we could win the cup it would be fantastic. I’m sure a few people wouldn’t enjoy it if we did – we would probably be called the worst side in history to win the Scottish Cup I would have thought,” he said. Law doesn’t spare his own team from criticism. Since the turn of the year he believes Rangers’ form has been poor. In mitigation, a subconscious switching off was always likely when the Ibrox men were so far ahead of the opposition. There is reason to believe that the superior players in the Rangers squad will perform to a higher level when faced with full-time opponents of greater abilities in the Championship next year. The candid Law is of that mind. “In that league there are better players and hopefully teams will be 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 and have a go,” he said. “That should make the games better and also make it better for us. No offence to this league but a lot of the boys are too good for this level and it will be good to test ourselves against better teams.” Despite being unbeaten in the league, Rangers have come to be seen as fallible. Albion Rovers manager James Ward has not blanched at stating his side will make the semi-finals. But while McCoist could rest players against Dunfermline yesterday with the league won, Ward had to run with players who were going down with cramp even in the latter stages of the Ibrox encounter. All of which makes Ward’s conviction that his men will prevail sound like a motivational technique. “James is a great man, absolutely,” said McCoist. “He’s positive and that’s the way he should be. It’s up to us to make sure he is wrong. But I thought his team did him proud on Sunday and he is saying exactly the type of thing you would hope your manager would say. I can understand his psychology and fair play to him. I’m obviously hopeful there would be a bit of Ally MacLeod in there.” A man who, it should be noted, made his name with a domestic cup success against a Glasgow club. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/rangers-season-defined-by-scottish-cup-says-law-1-3342254