Rangers MD: This is our Souness revolution

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RANGERS chief Stewart Robertson has vowed Mark Warburton WILL have cash to splash in January.

 

The Ibrox managing director insists the manager will be given the funds he needs to get them back into the top flight.

 

 

He said: “We have that assurance from Dave King and the Three Bears that the investment needed for January is there.

 

“The accounts have been signed off and I have no doubts the finance is there.”

 

 

 

GRAEME SOUNESS revolutionised Rangers and changed the face of Scottish football.

 

Thirty years on, Ibrox is in the throes of another radical shake-up.

 

England’s captain may not be on the verge of signing this time around.

 

But managing director Stewart Robertson insists the sea change in thinking since Dave King swept to power is every bit as significant.

 

It’s no exaggeration to say Gers and their supporters have been dragged to hell and back in the last four years.

 

Even allowing for the footballing fortunes of the Ibrox side before Souness arrived, the club is a pale shadow of its old self.

 

Robertson, though, believes the core values that existed then are still prevalent.

 

And that’s why he’s convinced Gers are in the midst of another historic revolution which he hopes will carry them back to the summit of Scottish football.

 

Robertson is six months into his new job after quitting Motherwell last January.

 

A boyhood Rangers fan, he’s under no illusions as to the size of the task facing him and his fellow directors.

 

Yet he insists Gers are well on the road to recovery — armed and ready for the challenges of the New Year.

 

Robertson said: “Terry Butcher was the first manager I worked alongside at Motherwell. He was a great guy and it was a fantastic experience for me because he was a hero of mine.

 

“I am 50 this year, so I first started taking an interest in Rangers in the 1970s. I started going to games in the 1980s and that continued into the 1990s.

 

“I grew up in Greenock and, as soon as I was old enough to come up on the buses, I was there.

 

“I got to away games and had a season ticket in the Main Stand for many years.

 

“John Greig was the manager when I first started going to games, so again it’s a real buzz to see him back here because he was another hero.

 

“I watched from Greig to Wallace, right up until Souness came in.

 

“The days pre-Souness were all about Dundee United and Aberdeen, but then he arrived and everything changed.

 

“Suddenly, Souness was playing for Rangers along with Butcher, Chris Woods and guys like that. You can see why people draw a comparison between the Souness era and today.

 

“Another revolution is taking place 30 years on, albeit on a different level.

 

“Finances are so different between Scotland and England and, back then, you could attract the England captain. That won’t happen again.

 

“There’s no doubt, though, an equivalent seismic shift is going on at the club now.”

 

The demise of Rangers was as sudden as it was brutal.

 

The shadowy figure of Craig Whyte took the club down a path of destruction, with a string of circus acts and chancers queueing up along Edmiston Drive to feed off the carcas. As Gers made headline news around the world, an unedifying period in Scottish football ensued.

 

King, of course, successfully ousted the despised former regime in March.

 

And since then Robertson believes the club have made great strides in their massive rebuilding job.

 

He added: “There has been a sustained period of calm off the field and that has been essential.

 

“So much has to be done and we have made great strides in a short time.

 

“But, believe me, there’s still a lot of work to be done. The football has been positive and we have been off the front pages, and that has allowed us to get on with rebuilding this great club.

 

“The contrast to what is here now compared to March is incredible.

 

“The commercial department once had 22 people working in it but by March there were three people left.

 

“The ticket office used to be 28 and it was down to ten.

 

“We’ve had to rebuild the staff. Every department needed looked at and we also had to rebuild morale.

 

“One of the biggest things was to allow them to go on holiday. Before they were too scared to take annual leave because they worried they wouldn’t have a job to come back to.

 

“The staff are incredible and it’s our job to prove this club is on its way back.

 

“The staff have been fantastic. They are the fabric of this club.”

 

Robertson is a chartered account. As advisor to former Well chairman John Boyle, he accidentally stumbled his way into the mad world of Scottish football. That was 13 years ago.

 

He said with a smile: “Nothing prepares you for when you first walk into a football club. There is no instruction manual.

 

“You think on your feet a lot of the time and my time at Motherwell gave me a good grounding.

 

“The basic business model is the same in terms of where your income streams come from and what your cost lines are.

 

“Salaries are the biggest cost and you are always trying to manage that within the budget.

 

“Of course, this is on a different scale from Motherwell. When I went to Motherwell it was post-administration and there wasn’t a lot of money around.

 

“You can’t get too worked up about things, though. That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned.

 

“You have to assess situations as they arise. You set out a list of things you intend to do in a day and then, invariably, things crop up you have to deal with.

 

“It’s how you react to those events and staying calm.

 

 

“You can’t allow yourself to get too emotionally attached, either.”

 

Robertson joined Gers in June. Initially brought in as the club’s new finance director, he was quickly elevated to the role of managing director.

 

He’s also in constant contact with boss Mark Warburton.

 

And he said: “It has been great so far. It’s been a lot of hard work because there is so much to do.

 

“But I have really enjoyed it. You are so busy you don’t have time to think. You’re just getting stuck into what you have to do. We’re all trying to make things better.

 

“It’s pretty full on and it’s a 12-hour day, six days a week.

 

“But I don’t mind that. Your days are full and you’re certainly not looking for something to do.

 

“It all came about after a phonecall from Paul Murray.

 

“He’d initially contacted me to discuss Stuart McCall because at the time Rangers were just about to bring him in.

 

“I have a massive amount of time for Stuart, so I was singing his praises.

 

“The conversion just evolved from there. I was asking how things had been following the AGM.

 

“From there, really, I was brought in as a consultant with the plan being I would become finance director.

 

“That gave me the chance to come in and see what condition the club was in — and it also gave the board a chance to look at me.

 

“From there it all just evolved into the managing director’s role, which I never planned.

 

“When I started out I never imagined I’d been MD of a football club — and certainly not the one I’d supported since I was a boy.

 

“I was a below-average goalie with two left feet, although I’ve always loved my football. But I never thought about it in terms of my career.

 

“You start out in accountancy training and become a chartered accountant, but you never know where it’s going to lead.”

 

 

 

 

STEWART ROBERTSON doesn’t need an alarm clock.

 

He just sets his watch by Mark Warburton’s wake-up call instead.

 

The Rangers MD rises at 6.30am each morning. And every day his computer pings to life with three or four emails from the Gers gaffer who’s already hard at work.

 

Robertson revealed: “I have a great working relationship with Mark and we speak to each other every day.

 

“There is dialogue with Mark, David Weir and Frank McParland each day — the three of them work very closely together.

 

“We are constantly looking at what

 

needs to be done, if it’s players in the January transfer window or what is required at Auchenhowie.

 

“We are already looking at pre-season for next year and are getting plans in place for that. It has to be a fully integrated football club.

 

“Mark is very methodical, detailed and professional in everything he does.

 

“He’s in at the crack of dawn and doesn’t leave until late at night.

 

“I’m up at 6.30 most mornings and, when I turn on my computer, I already have three or four emails from Mark.

 

“We don’t always agree but that is healthy. He is such a hard-working, dedicated individual and his passion for the club is clear.”

 

Robertson dreams Warburton will still be in charge of Rangers in ten years’ time — but he’s also realistic.

 

Already this season, Warbs has been heavily linked with a return to English football with Fulham, QPR and Swansea City.

 

And the more success he brings to Gers, the more clubs down south will be banging down Robertson’s door.

 

He confessed: “We are as relaxed as we can be. I am a big believer that, in life, what will be will be. You try to influence things as hard as you can and work hard to retain the best people around you.

 

“If Mark and David can get us into the Premiership, and then mount a challenge at the top, then we have to be realistic — they are going to create an interest.

 

“We need to give them the best environment we can at Rangers so we can try to hold on to them for as long as we can.

 

“Andrew Dickson and I are here to support the football side of things as best we can.

 

“And I know Mark has been blown away by the sheer size of the club and the support we have.

 

“All of these things are what we hope will keep Mark at Rangers for as long as possible.

 

“It would be great to see Mark still here in ten years but we are realistic.

 

“Mark has a fantastic relationship with his players and the backroom staff and I can’t speak highly enough of him.

 

“I think David Weir has been a big help to him in terms of settling into Scotland, the football and the way of life in Glasgow.

 

“His man-management has also helped settle the new players, so it’s all positive at the moment.”

 

 

 

 

 

Life & Times

 

RANGERS will make their voice heard if they return to the top flight.

 

Ibrox power broker Stewart Robertson made the vow last night — promising to help rebuild the image of Scottish football.

 

He said: “It’s vital our voice is heard. That’s key from my point of view and from a board perspective, too.

 

“The club has had a tough three or four years and we need to be back at the top table in Scottish football.

 

“We need to get back on the board at the SPFL and ultimately the SFA board.

 

“Andrew Dickson is on a few committees but we need our place on the board. We need to have a voice.

 

“When you are working in this environment, you have 42 clubs looking to have their voice heard. We’re one member, but we are a large and influential member.

 

“But if you are trying to have an influence you must build relationships and that’s what we have to do.”

 

Robertson also revealed league reconstruction is an issue the Ibrox board will debate next month.

 

He added: “That is something we will discuss in January.

 

“We believe it to be important but, with everything else we have had to contend with, it hasn’t been top of the list.

 

“Our focus is getting back into the Premiership.

 

“I know it’s something the SPFL will look at and we’ll get our position established in the New Year.

 

“Personally I can see merit in the league of 12. Every argument has pros and cons and not every model will suit every club.

 

“The big message this time is that whatever we do we have to ensure it’s set in stone for a good number of years.

 

“We can’t keep chopping and changing.”

 

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