Tickets still selling fast as away support set to exceed 30,000

RANGERS will be backed by over 30,000 travelling fans in their Third Division game against Queen’s Park, with the Hampden club confirming last night that 26,000 tickets have already been sold to the Ibrox legions and that they are preparing to deal with thousands of requests to buy tickets this morning.

The Rangers ticket office at Ibrox stopped selling tickets at 4pm yesterday, however they will be on sale from 9.30am on Aitkenhead Road on the outskirts of the National Stadium this morning, with Queen’s Park asking supporters to purchase them early rather than face the disappointment of not getting in to see the start of the game.

The Spiders have sold out their own allocation of 2,500 tickets, three times their normal level of support, and their general manager Christine Wright is looking to ensure everyone who wants to get in, gets in.

“We are offering a very simple ticket offer which is for Rangers fans only, tickets priced at £15 only and cash transactions only,” she explained. “We have been advised to expect a significant number of people turning up on the day but we only have a small number of staff working for us so if everyone turns up just before kick-off they will not all be served on time. We would ask fans to come along as early as possible to ensure that they get in for the kick off.”

A family section which will hold slightly more than 3,000 fans has been sold out, with the Rangers fans turning the game into what will seem a home match at a ground where they have lifted the Scottish Cup and League Cup, albeit the reduced capacity of 42,000 at the National Stadium is not expected to be reached.

Wright added: “Tickets have been on sale for a month now but there has been an increased interest recently and many people are now seeing the game as the perfect way to spend an afternoon in the middle of the holidays.”

Rangers have regularly drawn crowds of well over 40,000 to Ibrox this season despite finding themselves in the Third Division, but today’s attendance at Hampden will be by a hefty distance the largest to have watched them in an away fixture. The last time the Ibrox side played at the National Stadium was on 20 March, 2011 when they beat Celtic 2-1 in the CIS Cup final.