Charles Green eager to have Walter Smith on Rangers board

CHARLES Green has reached out to former manager Walter Smith as the Rangers chief executive seeks to strengthen the Ibrox board by adding more people with a football background and connection with the club.

• Charles Green is eager to have Walter Smith on the Ibrox board of directors to advise on footballing matters

• Smith was involved in a late bid to buy Rangers from Duff and Phelps last June after a sale to Green had been agreed

• Green making plans for a separate plc board and football board

• Regarding share issue, Green said that the club will not run out of money in terms of monthly requirements

Smith, who has managed the Ibrox side on two separate occasions, was part of a late bid to buy the club from Duff and Phelps after the sale of the business and assets was agreed with Charles Green in June of this year.

Green has plans to create a plc board after Rangers are listed on AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market), but is understood to be pursuing the creation of a separate football board, which would assume responsibility for all aspects of the first team and youth development.

The chief executive has held a number of meetings with Walter Smith, and said: “I’d like to get him on the board or as an advisor.

“Rangers need people who understand football, Rangers people who understand the culture. We’re short of that.

“There are a number of people who know more about Rangers than I ever will. I want to draw on all of these people.”

Green has also elaborated on the plans for a plc board, which is a stock exchange requirement, saying that there would be an additional football board.

He is also exploring the possibility of getting the fans involved, with the appointment of a supporters’ representative - which he described as ‘the heartbeat of Rangers’ - a distinct possibility.

Explaining the decision to launch the club’s share issue, the former Sheffield United owner maintained that funds are not being raised purely to cover day-to-day running costs, and added: “In terms of monthly requirements, we can’t run out of money.

“The season tickets for next season go on sale in May, as is the case for all normal clubs, so by the end of June we’ll have collected that and have another pile of cash in the bank.”