Ally McCoist on Charles Green Rangers return
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• Charles Green’s return to Rangers does not put me under any more pressure, says Ally McCoist
• Club will hold emergency board meeting on whether Green should remain at the club
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Hide AdThe Glasgow giants are in the grip of a power struggle after a group of shareholders called for the removal of key directors, including chief executive Craig Mather.
The shareholders also want to see the appointment of former Ibrox director Paul Murray and Scottish accountant Frank Blin as directors of the company.
Blin is believed to be close to wealthy businessman Jim McColl, who this week backed calls for boardroom change in his capacity as a Rangers shareholder but stated he had no desire to lead a takeover.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish League 1 opener against Brechin at Ibrox, McCoist said: “I just hope something gets sorted out sooner rather than later.
“If there’s no need to go to an EGM and things can get sorted out, then fantastic.
“If it has got to go to an EGM, then these are all decisions which are outside my control.
“I can’t have an effect on them so there is no real point in me worrying about them.”
On his own views on boardroom change, McCoist added: “I’ve got to back the board and hopefully they will back me in moving the club forward.
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Hide Ad“Decisions within the board about the club will be made by the board and by the shareholders and, indeed, the fans, who have all got an opinion and a voice and rightly should be heard.
“Me, I’ve just got to support the board and support the decisions they make in hopefully moving the club forward.”
McCoist was present at a meeting with fans’ representatives last night, which was also attended by Mather.
He said: “I thought it was very beneficial in the respect that fans are 100 per cent entitled to voice their opinions on a number of issues.
“Last night was an opportunity for them to do that and I think they did that.
“I would be very hopeful that a lot of them got answers to questions they were asking.
“I think it can only be a good thing when you hear the opinions of the people who support you. Selling 34,000 season tickets again is just outrageous and I think the very least we can do is hear what they’ve got to say.”
According to a joint statement released by the Rangers Supporters Trust, the Rangers Supporters Association and the Rangers Supporters Assembly, a board meeting will be convened within seven days to consider the future of Charles Green.
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Hide AdThe Yorkshireman resigned as chief executive in April but has returned to Rangers as a consultant.
He has already become embroiled in a war of words with McCoist, after claiming the manager must deliver a cup, as well as the league title, this season.
Asked if Green’s return puts him under pressure, McCoist said: “Not at all.
“I’m under as much pressure as I’ve always been here and that’s plenty - to get results and continue to progress up the leagues and get us back.
“So that’s the pressure that I’m under - and we are all under.
“It’s a pressure we have accepted and expect and we will handle it fine.”
The two men have not spoken since Green’s return and, when asked if it was a relationship that can be repaired, McCoist said: “I really don’t know.
“Charles is a shareholder now so there is no real reason for me to talk to Charles.
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Hide Ad“I’ll certainly talk to the most important man at the moment, Craig Mather, who has helped me bring players in who, in our staffs’ opinion, will help us move the club forward.
“Craig has been absolutely first class with that.
“That’s a relationship that has been very good and very beneficial to me and hopefully that can progress.”
McCoist has so far recruited eight new players and admits they, along with younger members of the squad, have probably been affected by the recent off-field turmoil.
“I would hazard a guess by saying yes,” he said.
“I haven’t spoken to them about it in any great detail, other than [saying] at the moment this is life at Rangers.
“It never used to be but we are obviously under scrutiny for possibly other reasons. Footballing reasons, you could understand.
“It’s certainly been an education for some of the younger boys and the new signings, who now realise the stature and coverage that the club gets.
“The ones who are joining us are intelligent enough to understand that it’s different here.”