Trust accuses Murray of ignoring fans' concerns

Published on Thursday 15 January 2009 21:11

SIR DAVID Murray was yesterday accused of "shooting the messenger" by disgruntled Rangers fans demanding an immediate change of direction at Ibrox.

Chairman Murray hit out at the Rangers Supporters Trust for whipping up "hysteria" about perceived problems at the club and insisted he would continue to run the Light Blues how he saw fit.

The RST helped launch a campaign on Wednesday called 'We Deserve Better', which is backed by their board and other fans' groups. However, the Rangers Supporters Assembly – which represents all fans' groups around the world and is generally more favoured by the club – distanced themselves from the move and called for unity during a period of turmoil at Ibrox.

Murray dismissed his critics, saying they did not understand business and claiming they had no alternative proposals in place. But RST spokesman David Edgar, who insists Murray is ignoring the concerns of supporters, said yesterday: "For years now, Rangers have had a policy of shooting the messenger, rather than dealing with the issues.

"The chairman may say no-one has offered solutions.

"The Trust and various other supporters' groups have constantly offered solutions as we see them to the problems at the club and the club have rejected them.

"We had a committee formed by the club to look at fan interaction. That committee met three times over the period of six months and hasn't met since September 2006 – and that was at the club's behest."

Lack of communication with supporters was just one of 17 areas of concern the campaign raised yesterday. Also highlighted was the club's relative lack of success on the field and a transfer policy that has left Rangers needing to sell at least one prize asset this month in order to balance the books.

Edgar agrees with Murray that fans are not experts in business, but argues it is the job of the board to come up with an alternative approach to the one he claims has failed.

"We're fans and we're amateurs and we've never stated we know more about football than the football people," Edgar said. "But what is apparent is that the transfer policy hasn't worked; what is apparent is that the current financial situation has been exacerbated by it."

He added: "If the chairman feels he's got the best people in situ for the job, that's fine. But what is apparent is the people in those jobs have to improve.

"Perhaps they could look for an injection of fresh blood to assist the current team. What they should certainly do is interact with fans' groups."