Rangers still equipped to thrive on a budget

RANGERS chairman Alastair Johnston's proclamation of 'business as usual' at the Ibrox club evokes the image of a shopkeeper trying to maintain levels of trade while temporary scaffolding obscures his premises from public view.

In responding to this week's decision by Sir David Murray to take Rangers off the market, Johnston was understandably attempting to paint a picture of stability at the Scottish champions. In many ways, he was right to do so.

They will go into next season with the highly successful management team of Walter Smith, Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall still in place, contrary to many expectations. The negotiation of a new agreement with the Lloyds Banking Group, which will allow Smith to move into the transfer market for the first time in almost two years, has removed another element of uncertainty.

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Yet Murray's failure to secure an acceptable offer for his 92 per cent stake in Rangers ensures many of the concerns held by their supporters also remain. With no credible white knight having emerged since Murray put the club up for sale 10 months ago, they remain firmly in the grip of austerity.

As Johnston observed, Rangers still desire investment. It is difficult to see where it will come from. For the same reason that no queue of prospective buyers rushed to Murray's door, no-one is going to view Rangers as a gilt-edged repository for some of their funds. In the absence of a benefactor willing to make a financial commitment for purely emotional reasons, Rangers must learn to live with the status quo.

Thanks to Smith's achievement in winning the last two SPL titles, that is not as grim as it might have been. Reaching the group stage of the Champions League in consecutive seasons has spared Rangers from a level of financial crisis they would have struggled to overcome. Their presence in Europe's elite club tournament this year, with its guarantee of around 10 million income, was a key factor in Lloyds agreeing to loosen the purse strings sufficiently to persuade Smith to commit himself to one more campaign.

This, however, is likely to be the last season for some time that any Scottish club enjoys the benefit of direct entry to the Champions League. Scotland's crumbling co-efficient ranking will leave both Rangers and Celtic, or any club able to break their hegemony, facing a daunting qualification route to the riches of the competition.

Rangers, though, can afford only to concern themselves with the realities of their current situation. Nacho Novo, Stevie Smith and DaMarcus Beasley have already left under freedom of contract with serial top goalscorer Kris Boyd signalling his intention to do likewise. Veteran captain David Weir looks likely to be offered another one year deal by Smith who also hopes to retain the services of Kirk Broadfoot.

A transfer budget in the region of 5 million will require to be spent shrewdly if Rangers are to strengthen their squad sufficiently to resist what is likely to be a highly energised challenge from Celtic under Neil Lennon. As well as seeking new recruits, the Ibrox club will be mindful of the situation surrounding several first team regulars, including Danny Wilson, Kenny Miller, Kevin Thomson, Sasa Papac and Lee McCulloch, who are all entering the final year of their current contracts.

The sale of one or more of them cannot be discounted. Rangers may also be tempted to cash in on their most saleable assets, notably goalkeeper Allan McGregor and defender Madjid Bougherra who might be expected to raise around 10 million, as part of a strategy aimed at both reducing the club's debt and increasing the funds available to Smith.

So while significant difficulties continue to surround operations at Rangers, the future may not be quite as bleak as it once seemed. If they can continue to live efficiently within their means, further domestic success should not be beyond them in a Scottish football landscape where they remain considerably more affluent than most.

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As Murray extends his ownership of Rangers into a 23rd season, reluctantly or otherwise, the club have enough resilience on and off the field to ensure that the name of Andrew Ellis becomes little more than a bizarre footnote in their history.