ian1964 10,626 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 HE'S seen the club he's always loved crash to its knees. Sat through 15-hour days of tense and tormenting negotiations in a bid to save jobs. Then had the snipers turn on him after being wrongly accused of being a deal-breaker. Put it all together and it's no wonder Stevie Naismith doesn't hesitate to say he's been through the longest week of his life. SunSport revealed yesterday that Rangers ace Naisy, along with top-earning team-mates Steve Davis, Steven Whittaker and Allan McGregor, had been the first to sign up to massive wage cuts. It was always their plan when Gers entered administration and the club's very existence looked bleak. They just wanted to make sure their big-hearted sacrifices â?? they will now earn just a quarter of what they should have until the end of the season â?? would pay off for others in the long-run. On Thursday night Naismith and Whittaker stayed back to seek written guarantees that, if the whole squad put pen to paper on their salaries being slashed, the axemen would waive further cuts. They got that, plus a statement of intent that non-football staff would also be dealt with in the best way possible. That, rather than any monetary greed, was the reason for the hold-up earlier in the week. It's why Naisy was so shocked when he picked up other newspapers to see him being branded a contract rebel and deal-breaker. SunSport revealed how Naismith, Whittaker and Davis had angrily clashed with joint administrators Paul Clark and David Whitehouse on Tuesday night as the bean-counters tried to pressurise them into signing something they weren't comfortable with. But Naismith sped away from Murray Park two nights ago as satisfied as he could be after seeing his weekly wage slashed from five figures to four until June. What hurts most though is the accusations that were never accurate and saw the Scotland star branded greedy by the Ibrox fans he once sat among as a kid. As he pulled back into the Gers' training base yesterday morning Naismith said: "We just wanted what was best for the club. "Some people have been getting negative press about supposedly not wanting to do a deal. That isn't, and has never been, the case. "Everyone at the club has been doing all we can to get a solution here. The players are, and have been, doing everything in their power to try and get a deal done. "We've been willing to accept cuts from the off. That's always been the case. We knew for the club to move forward we needed to pull together and do that. We've always been of the mind that we wanted to strike some sort of deal. "I've been one who's come in for criticism. Well, if I'm getting criticised for looking out for the best interests of the players, the staff, potentially the fans too, by saving the club, then bring it on. "People doing the criticising should look at themselves. Real supporters will only want what's best for the club, as we all do. "It's totally false to say we've been deal-breakers. It's not nice when people are jumping to conclusions when they don't know the full facts. "I've followed the team all my life, they're my team. The club means a lot to me. I've only ever wanted what's best for its future. "There are a lot of other Rangers fans in the squad and they just want to get it fixed, so, hopefully, a deal can now be done. For everyone involved at the club I'm sure it's been the longest week they've ever been through in their lives. "There have been long, late shifts trying to get a deal done, but that shows the commitment of everyone involved to try and get something sorted." The quartet who got the ball rolling have been key voices since the club slipped into administration nearly four weeks ago. Naismith, 25, hoped their stance would set the tone for the rest of the squad yesterday, with the administrators threatening compulsory cuts if a unanimous decision isn't reached. Top earners were set to take the same 75 per cent hit, with middle earners seeing their wages halved and those on lower earnings having a quarter knocked off their pay. But Naismith, out for the season after snapping his cruciate, wouldn't have had a problem if someone opted not to follow suit. He said: "People need to respect that everyone's financial situations are totally different. "And by that I mean all staff at Rangers, not just the players. "People need to respect what each and every person decides because it could be a life-changing decision that they make. "We, as players, want to secure as many jobs as possible, not just within the playing staff, but throughout the whole club. "Everyone is trying to bring it to a good conclusion. Everyone wants this to succeed. There are a lot of innocent people here who just want to get on with their lives and have a job at the end of the day. "Hopefully, these decisions to take cuts to our wages will let them do that and eventually help save the club." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4184397/If-taking-this-pay-cut-can-help-rescue-my-club-itll-be-worth-it.html#ixzz1ofdXjbXu 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ergatrude 0 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 He'll be a great captain for us one day. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse With No Name 0 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Well done Steven! I'd heard (at the Hearts game) that he and Kyle Lafferty were the ones stalling the process. Never thought that would be true of Steven, though with Kyle you get the feeling that the continued attacks from the filth on him are weighing him down a bit and he'd rather be for the off. Soooo many rumours and tbh one of the things i'm looking forward to (once we hopefuly secure the clubs future) is to not listen to any rumours at all - Rangers giving us clear statements when things return to a better footing and we're on the road to paying our debts. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Well done Steven! I'd heard (at the Hearts game) that he and Kyle Lafferty were the ones stalling the process. Never thought that would be true of Steven, though with Kyle you get the feeling that the continued attacks from the filth on him are weighing him down a bit and he'd rather be for the off. Soooo many rumours and tbh one of the things i'm looking forward to (once we hopefuly secure the clubs future) is to not listen to any rumours at all - Rangers giving us clear statements when things return to a better footing and we're on the road to paying our debts. Unfortunately Rangers have never been very transparent in the past so we are not used to getting accurate information from them. Hopefully things will be better in the future. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilledbear 16 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 'Supporters like this. 'Then two of our highest paid players, both out injured just now, told the Administrators that their wage cut should only be 50% as they couldn’t earn win bonuses. This despite picking up their full wages to date while on the sick and not being able to kick a ball in achieving those wins. The Administrators were angered that they were backtracking on the agreement and were ready to make them redundant and implement the agreement among the other players' I don't want to hark on, but this from unnamed sources make me really angry. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I posted the Boss story purely because it was information. Honestly I considered it the usual hogwash I'm used to from people with 'unnamed sources'. And it's proven to be so. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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