How Rangers plan to overtake Celtic as new CEO reveals strategy to become 'dominant club in Scotland'

New Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove has revealed that plans are in place for the club to become the dominant force in Scottish football across the next two years.

The Ibrox side have operated in the shadow of their Glasgow rivals across much of the past decade with Celtic winning 11 of the last 12 league championships while Rangers have lifted only two major honours since returning to the top flight in 2016.

The unbeaten league win under Steven Gerrard in season 2020-21 appeared to set Rangers on course for a period of success but Celtic have regained the upper hand under Ange Postecoglou, who will secure a domestic treble and his fifth trophy out of six since arriving at Parkhead two years ago if he steers his side to a Scottish Cup final victory over Inverness next month.

Bisgrove, however, is aiming to spearhead a Rangers renaissance when he takes over from Stewart Robertson as the new Rangers CEO on July 31, stepping up from his current position as Director of Commercial and Marketing, which he took when he arrived at Ibrox in 2019.

James Bisgrove will step into the role of Rangers chief executive officer this summer. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

He is part of a major boardroom overhaul that also includes a change of chairman with Douglas Park stepping down last month to be replaced by John Bennett, while sporting director Ross Wilson has also quit for a similar role at Nottingham Forest.

Speaking to Rangers TV, Bisgrove said: “We’ve got a very clear strategy for the football club through to 2025 in terms of what we want to achieve across the club. There are a number of objectives that underpin that, but it’s about us being successful as a football club and being the dominant team in Scotland.

"It’s important for us to win trophies on a regular basis and we compete and make an impact in European competitions.”

Rangers are also set for a rebuild on the field with first-team manager Michael Beale set to oversee a summer recruitment drive that Bisgrove described as "really exciting".

He continued: “The manager has already spoken about the summer being a transformative one for the squad and he’s also presented a clear body of work which has taken place across a number of months.

"Led by our chief scout John Park from a recruitment point of view, he's presented a plan for what he wants the squad to look like. His plan is fully supported by the board and we are reasonably well advanced in a number of discussions that will underpin that plan in terms of player recruitment and there will be some announcements made in due time.

“The plan that Michael has presented to the board is a really exciting one in terms of the transformation on the park for next season.”

Bisgrove also revealed the club were looking into the feasibility of safe standing at Ibrox and said close to 45,000 season tickets and 2,000 hospitality packages had been renewed for next term.