Rangers hope to play at home at Ibrox after the next international break, but chairman John Bennett admits their return could “expire” beyond the end of September.
The club agreed to play Scottish Premiership, League Cup and European Cup games in August at Hampden Park following a delay in work on the Copland Stand at Ibrox Stadium.
The delay has been caused by delays in shipping materials, with the first of the three having already arrived and the second and third scheduled for August, “subject to slippage”,
Rangers’ only scheduled home game for September, as things currently stand, will be against Hibernian on 28 September.
“When I think about timelines, it’s aspirational at this stage,” Bennett told club media.
“I’m warning you, there’s still uncertainty. We can aspire for this to be at the end of September, but it’s an aspiration. I’m sorry to have to give a warning, it frustrates me so much that I have to give a warning. .
“Yes, I may have an aspiration – to take our people back to their last home game in September, but yes, it can go beyond that.”
Bennett, who thanked the Scottish FA for using the national stadium, said he understood that “nature abhors a vacuum”. The last official update on the Ibrox issues came with confirmation of the temporary move to Hampden two weeks ago.
And he said he is “hopeful” that season ticket holders will receive an update on where they will be at Hampden later this week.
Bennett also spoke about the club’s finances.
“Upon becoming president, my number one mission off the field was to rid the club of pre-playing commercial losses,” he explained.
“That figure up to June 2023 was £10.5m. This is unsustainable.
“This club shouldn’t lose £10 million in pre-player negotiations in a year. This required a cultural change.
“Football clubs are brilliant at wasting resources. Football clubs are really good at spending other people’s money. We were good at that too and that’s changing, big time and fast, because it had to change fast.
“We’re not done yet in terms of this cultural shift, there’s more to come.”
On the field, six players have been recruited so far in the summer window, while five have left on contract release, Fabio Silva has returned to parent club Wolves, and Sam Lammers has been sold to Twente.
“If I take 2024, the January window and this window, excluding loans, we are double-digit millions in commitments, in transfer payables. Excluding loans, we are around £11.5 million so far in transfer payables. They’re not free — they come with loan fees, but they come with agent fees.”
