ian1964 10,826 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 About to be heard on real radio http://www.realradio-scotland.co.uk/station/listen-live/k8um6mai/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangers Football Club 0 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) JOHNSTON cautions that challenges remain for Rangers by Lindsay Herron AS a lifelong supporter Alastair Johnston can understand the frustration and concerns of the Rangers fans and he has cautioned that the club will continue to cut their cloth to continue their recovery plan. He is obviously aware of recent protests by supporters groups and he is not critical of them. Johnston has also revealed that he understands why Walter Smith said earlier this month on a radio interview that the club's plight may not be any better in the summer and he clarifies that by saying that it is new investment that will change all of that. He said: "I can understand the fans' concerns because I am a fan myself. The only thing I can say is that nothing of what I have said removes our eye from the ball in respect of our recovery plan and for that to be totally satisfied we need new investment in the club. "We need the bank to the replaced and that is where we are heading for at this point in time. "There continues to be dialogue and I think the more that we can put the club on a stable footing the more attractive we become to investors. "The fans are entitled to express opinions because they pay their money and have a right to so. "Without knowing on day to day basis of what we are doing and how we have to do it, it is perhaps challenging for them to form an objective opinion. "We rely on the bank for our cash and our working capital to operate the club which means that we rely on the bank to get our audited financial statements certified and to ensure we don't fall foul of UEFA in terms of going concern issues and licensing issues." Fans were alerted earlier this month when Walter Smith said that "things will only get worse in the summer" and Johnston has explained this comment. He said: "We are looking at the same business plan and I can understand why he said what he said. "What we have to be able to do is revise the business plan that we are currently operating on but that will be dependent on new investment. "It's the on-going costs of holding the players that we have. There is a lot of serious discussion to what we can afford to pay for players in terms of contracts. "It's one thing to talk about being able to pay transfer fees but it's another to be able to pay players two or three contracts at the levels they expect. "Operating at lower level in terms of salaries is in the business plan and that's what Walter was alluding to. "Depending on performance and depending on our ability to convince the bank of sustainability we are hoping to address that in a favourable way in the next few months." More... Edited February 17, 2010 by Super_Ally 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyOneAmoruso 0 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 On Clyde he didn't condemn the protests and he didn't give them a green light but he said that supporters are right to feel concerned and act as they see fit. Thoughts on that? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,826 Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 He's also just said he doesn't know how much the club is for sale?, '' it's between MIH and the bank,until someone actually comes in and says we are interested in buying Rangers FC then it will be up to the bank & MIH to decide how much it would cost '' 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,826 Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 BBC Scotland interview with AJ:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8520966.stm 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,826 Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 Alastair Johnston, the Rangers chairman, insisted last night that the club are on the road to financial recovery, though he was unable to shed any light on any potential new Ibrox owner appearing on the horizon. Johnston was speaking on the day of some encouraging Rangers interim financial results being announced, which revealed a profit of Ã?£13.1 million — an increase of Ã?£22 million on last year — and a hike in turnover to Ã?£37.8 million. Rangers, however, remain “within the remit” of their bankers, Lloyds, whose aim is to reclaim as much of their lending to the Scottish champions as possible. On this subject Johnston appeared to be caught between being appreciative of Rangers’ bankers and being frustrated by them. The Rangers chairman refused to divulge what the present Ibrox debt stands at, though it is believed to be down to around Ã?£27 million from the Ã?£31 million figure stated in the club’s last full set of accounts.”The recovery plan has gone well over the past nine months,” Johnston said. “I think the club is in a better position now than it has been. So that aspect is pleasing. We have a business plan in conjunction with the bank and we are happy to abide by that.” But while “tentative discussions” had taken place with various parties, Johnston confirmed that no bid had yet been made to buy Rangers.”We have had no offers to buy the club,” the Rangers chairman said. “There have been tentative discussions, but no offers. But the sale of the club, when it happens, will I hope be the catalyst to one of my great objectives here — which is to remove the reliance of Rangers FC on external financing. “That ambition is still my key objective. In the long term we want to be able to sustain our own independent revenue streams at Rangers.” Johnston sounded less effusive, though, when asked about the contribution of Donald Muir — the Murray Group’s representative on the Ibrox board — to the club’s cause. “Well, ah, let me say this — Donald is always interesting to listen to,” Johnston said, a mite hesitantly. “He says some things that are constructive, and other things that maybe we might hold a different view on. But Donald is always interesting.” Johnston also insisted that he still hoped to persuade Walter Smith to remain as manager into next season. “I’ve always said that I want Walter to stay at the club,” he said. “But Walter has said — and we respect this — that he wants to see this season out first and then take a view of things in the summer.” 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,511 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 "We need the bank to the replaced and that is where we are heading for at this point in time. "There continues to be dialogue and I think the more that we can put the club on a stable footing the more attractive we become to investors. Surely more evidence that Lloyd's are in charge. I don't really think it is a bad thing as we should be operating within our means. I just hope the same standards are put across the whole of Europe. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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