Rangers 3-1 St Mirren: Rangers and their fans continue to rally in the face of adversity

CARLOS Bocanegra was impressed with the 46,998 who turned up at Ibrox on Saturday to demonstrate their support for Rangers.

Not only was it a show of loyalty to the stricken club on a day that officially ended their reign as Scottish champions, it was an opportunity to show potential owners that liquidation would not be tolerated by those who pay at the gate.

Bocanegra understood that this was not about Lee McCulloch’s header that opened the scoring after 44 seconds, nor about the shot by Andrew Little that doubled their lead five minutes before half-time, nor even the four penalties that lent a bizarre twist to the occasion. One was scored by St Mirren’s Paul McGowan, one by Kyle Lafferty, and the others missed by McCulloch and Sone Aluko.

This, as a fans’ banner explained in the Broomloan Stand, was about the future of their club, their fathers’ club and the club that would belong to their children. You could argue that it is always about that, or at least should be, but it is a new one on Bocanegra, the American defender who moved to Scotland last summer.

“More and more since I’ve been here, I’ve realised how passionate the fans are, how deep their roots run. It isn’t just them who support the club, it’s their families, their grandfathers, their grandfathers’ fathers ... it’s pretty amazing. I’m realising how big the club is around the world. Wherever you go, somebody is a Rangers supporter. It’s pretty cool. I didn’t realise it was that big in the grand scheme of things.”

On Saturday, fans of the club founded in 1872 chose the 18th and 72nd minutes to brandish red cards in protest at the prospect of liquidation, a solution to the ongoing crisis that would wipe the club’s history from the record books. Given the home support’s habit of leaving early for the underground, it is as well for them that the club had not been born in 1889.

Still, Ally McCoist, the Rangers manager, insists that they don’t do walking away. Bocanegra riffed on a similar theme afterwards when he said that he had no plans to jump ship in the summer, even if his Rangers career hadn’t gone quite as he intended.

“We didn’t qualify for the Champions League this year, which was a bit of a bummer, and next year it’s gone as well. Those were ambitions for me, but having 50,000 people watch you every weekend is awesome. I love the atmosphere here. I love being part of this club. I’m realising how big it is globally. I hope it gets sorted out quickly because I enjoy it here and I want to stay.”

That, of course, will depend on who buys Rangers, and how they address the future. Bocanegra offered a convincing impression of someone who hadn’t the foggiest idea what was going on behind the scenes, even if one of the confirmed bidders for the club was a compatriot from Tennessee. “Bill Miller you say? I’ll check him out on Google tonight.”

McCoist said that he spoke to Miller for the best part of an hour on Friday. The Rangers manager also claimed that he would be on the next available flight to the United States if the 65-year-old American was identified as the preferred bidder. He confirmed that Miller, who wants to “clean up” debts that could rise to £134m, was keen to avoid liquidation.

Bocanegra was not surprised that an American is among the bidders. After all, some of his countrymen already have taken over Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, amont others. While the football played by Rangers is not in the same league as the big English clubs, their international reach is commercially appealing.

“Football is such a global sport,” says Bocanegra. “People in America are realising that and trying to capitalise on it. When I was growing up, I couldn’t watch European games, but now you can watch more of them in America than you can here.

“There are four or five EPL games on every weekend back home. It’s really popular. They are showing it before NFL games now, almost in the build-up. The NFL is the biggest televised sport in America. They have the biggest TV contract. So [soccer] is becoming more mainstream, something for people to tap into.”

How excited Americans would be about watching Rangers against St Mirren remains to be seen, although this encounter was diverting enough, thanks mainly to the four penalties. No sooner had McGowan’s, four minutes into the second half, pulled the visitors back into contention than another was awarded at the other end. Although McCulloch’s spot kick was saved, the dismissal of Jeroen Tesselaar, who had pulled down Aluko, ensured that there was no way back for Danny Lennon’s side. Lafferty’s penalty, on the hour, completed the scoring.