Rangers chief Martin Bain answers the questions every fan wants answered in our exclusive interview

Jul 22 2010 Exclusive by Keith Jackson

RANGERS chief executive Martin Bain is a man at the eye of a storm as Ibrox fans react furiously to the exodus of their championship-winning side.

While manager Walter Smith was taking a squad made up of just 13 senior pros to Australia, back in Glasgow Bain sat down with Record Sport’s chief football writer Keith Jackson to explain what is going on behind the scenes at the crisis-hit club.Six players have already left since the end of last season and one of them, Middlesbrough new boy Kevin Thomson, predicted in our paper yesterday that Smith’s entire title heroes will be wiped out in less than two years.Here, in an exclusive interview, our man asks the questions the fans want answered – and Bain pulls no punches on what is a dramatic situation for Scotland’s champions.

Q: Rangers supporters are concerned by the dwindling numbers in Walter Smith’s squad. Do you have any particular message for them?

A: The fans showed faith last season in people who they trusted to get the club through a difficult time. We are now going through another delicate period and I would simply ask our fans to continue to have faith.The fact is, the financial situation is vastly better than it was this time 12 months ago – thanks to the efforts of Walter and the team.But we are still in a situation which needs to be sensitively managed and we have to work within certain parameters. The difference is this time we have been allowed a little more freedom to manage the finances and juggle things in a way we couldn’t last year.

Q: But you can understand why the fans might be beginning to panic?

A: Absolutely. I would react like that myself given what has gone on before at the club.But what we are trying to do is strike a balance by bringing in a quality of player that is going to add an asset value to the club. There is no point in signing players of lesser quality which will only be detrimental to the club going forward.It’s difficult for two reasons. The first is, although we do have a transfer kitty, we have limited resources. The second is, we don’t want to dive in and sign the wrong player for the sake of it.Walter wants players in and we have talked a great deal about what is needed in order for us to win a third successive title.

Q: How many players do you both feel are needed to supplement the group?

A: As it stands we need three new players of a decent standard. At the moment we have a couple on the radar, ones we are looking at. It’s two at the moment but by the end of the transfer market I hope to have signed three.I know it’s an old cliche but I would ask the fans to judge what we have done at the end of the summer as opposed to judging us now.It looks bad right now. I accept that. But we are in control of what’s going on. Thomson and Danny Wilson both wanted to leave. These were bits of business that had to be done.Wilson in particular had nothing to do with the club’s situation. We offered the player an awful lot of money to stay but he had made up his mind to go to Liverpool some time ago so at that point we had to maximise the asset value.As a matter of fact, we have done a good deal for a young boy who only had a year left on his contract. The reason we are in a dilemma with these players who only have a year left is largely to do with the way things were being run last year. It also has to do with the pot of money Walter and I have at our disposal. We realise it is of fundamental importance we add new players to the squad.

Q: Is it a source of embarrassment you have gone so long without signing a new player? Mo Edu was the last player you bought, in 2008.

A: Yes, there is no point in fooling anyone. We can’t go another summer without signing new players. They add a freshness to the whole club and to the first-team squad. They give supporters value for their season ticket.We would love to offer new contracts to the players who are here but we have to be realistic. We can’t have both. We have to strike the right balance.Our priority now is to bring in new players and then we can look at extensions. It is incredible a club of this stature has gone so long without signing new players. This trend can’t continue. We are now in a position which allows us to sign players and we absolutely have to do that.

Q: Are you close to making any signings at this stage?

A: No. At this stage we are not close to completing anything. But we did offer nearly £2million to Burnley for Chris Eagles. I just wasn’t prepared to bow to those kind of wage demands. But that was proof we do have money and we are active in the market.I have spoken to clubs about another couple of players and have been given indicative values. But Walter and I are watching how the market develops. We are not going to let this go on for ever but it is also extremely difficult to land a player in the current climate. The Eagles episode proves that.A boy from Burnley who didn’t want to sign for Rangers? These players know they can make more money away from the SPL and that makes it difficult. But we will make sure we buy the right type of players. Neither myself or Walter will go down the route of signing the wrong players as a knee-jerk reaction. All we ask is the fans have a little bit of faith.

Q: Does Walter Smith feel he can maintain a level of competitiveness with a squad of only 16 players?

A: It is not ideal. No-one is saying it is and injuries and suspensions then become a major concern.But it will give younger players a chance to come in and show what they can do. What Walter has proved in abundance is he can get the best out of a solid core of players. We have a solid core of players who want to play for him. If we can just bring in three quality men for key positions it will give everyone a lift. But it is going to be difficult.We want to bring in another two or three players of real quality. We want another Steve Davis – players who improve the quality of the team.It would be wrong for me to say we are going to bring in another three Steves. But what I am trying to do is find three quality players rather than five or six squad fillers. That would be the downfall of the football club again.

Q: So the squad was bloated before?

A: Yes, it was bloated with players sitting around on the edges taking home big wages. We brought in players who weren’t right for the club.That’s why Walter is absolutely correct in what he wants to do. He knows the numbers are not great but he would rather target quality than quantity.It’s my job right now to demonstrate we can accumulate as much money as we possibly can to allow us a chance of getting that extra quality.

Q: Do you intend to sell MORE players this summer then?

A: I am not going to say more sales are inevitable. That would only set alarm bells ringing. But I also don’t want to treat our supporters as if they’re stupid. They understand our situation. We are not promoting the sale of any player in our squad. We want to keep them all and add a bit of quality.But you never know the intentions of some players. If it is their intention to go – by hook or by crook – inevitably they end up doing so.But if that’s the case I will ensure we get maximum value. What I won’t do is allow them to leave at the last minute of the transfer window without getting the right value for the club.We got good value for Wilson – a player who wanted to go. Anyone looking at that deal in isolation would agree we have done well there.I accept the problem we face at the moment is that this appears to be becoming a trend.

Q: But the fans won’t look at Wilson’s sale in isolation. They look at the loss of Novo, Boyd and Thomson and they see a trend developing?

A: Boyd was offered £18,000 a week and £4000 a game. He knocked it back.Would other people sitting in my shoes have given in to his demands and paid him more? I’m not so sure they would have.Could we have tied him up earlier and then sold him on? Well he refused to go for £3m in January so that argument doesn’t cut it either.Nacho was offered a decent increase to stay. He wanted a two-year extension but we only offered him one year. Why? Because it’s up to us to change the mix. As much as our fans love Nacho Novo did they want to see him for another two years or would they prefer to see us use what money we have to bring in new players to freshen it up?

Q: You have an agreement with Lloyds Bank. Is it simply a matter of reducing the overdraft by £1m a year as had been previously stated?

A: There is no schedule to bring the debt down by a million a year. The bank wants its money back and has simply set us parameters which, although tight, have not handcuffed us.They are just difficult circumstances but we can work within them.The debt has come down but we are still paying for past transfers. That means, if we make £10m it doesn’t automatically come off the total of our debt. It is still too high but it is becoming more and more manageable.

Q: What about external investment? Have you shelved the idea of finding a new buyer for the club?

A: I would be completely wrong to shelve any kind of avenue which might bring investment into the club. But the ownership side of it is a matter for David Murray.David would still say he is not going to stand in the way of the right people – people who could improve the welfare of Rangers.My own take is I fundamentally believe that if Rangers is to maintain the stature that it has throughout the world and in the Scottish environment then outside investment is needed urgently.There are other clubs across the planet who face the same problems. The difference – the thing that makes Rangers unique – is that we have a responsibility to continue to compete for trophies. We wholeheartedly accept that responsibility.

Q: Do you and Walter believe you have the players to win next season’s title?

A: We will never start off a season not believing we can win the championship but the reality is it’s going to be a difficult one – perhaps the hardest one yet.But I would temper that by saying, if the fans show patience and continue to buy season tickets, and we can bring the right three players over the line before the end of the transfer window, then it will give us a much better chance than we would appear to have at the moment.Walter has a core of players he can rely upon. But he needs to add quality. What we don’t need is to bring in last minute.com players who don’t add value to the club.

Q: Players such as Jerome Rothen you mean. Lesson learned?

A: That was a painful lesson. We felt we needed to add something to the squad and had been looking for a wide player. It didn’t work out. But for every Rothen there is a Bougherra or a Davis.That’s the kind of quality we need.Walter wants a wide player but he talks to managers across Europe who are all chasing the same thing. Everyone wants good wingers – the difference is these clubs have £40m to spend and they still can’t land one. That’s what makes it such a hard job.

Q: How would you describe your relationship with Walter Smith? Is it being tested by this predicament?

A: Walter and I are working together.

We know what is required. In fact, he phoned me from Bangkok earlier today during the stop-over on the flight to Australia and made me laugh.He said the only reason he was phoning was to ask if I had sold another player yet! I said no but I told him to check back in once he landed in Sydney!We both know how difficult it is but we also know the players we want to go for. We also knew this was inevitable. It is about bringing cash in now to make the pot as big as we can.We don’t want to end up selling people at the end of the window and then not have time to spend it.ìWe know it looks bad to be going to Australia with 13 players but if the fans have faith we will sort this out.No, we won’t have tens of millions to spend but we are doing what needs to be done.

( Daily Record )

Spine-chilling Champions League semi-final sold it for me, says Liverpool new boy Joe Cole

By Colin Young on tour with Liverpool in Zug
Last updated at 12:44 AM on 22nd July 2010

It was Liverpool‘s famous, passionate fans who convinced Joe Cole that Anfield was the place to relaunch his career.Every time the England star thought about the chance to sign for Roy Hodgson, his mind went back to that classic Champions League semi-final five years ago.It was the night the Reds rode a wave of noise rolling down from the Kop that helped persuade referee Lubos Michel to award Luis Garcia a winning goal when the ball might not have crossed the line.

Over the line? Garcia wheels away in delight in front of the Kop in 2005

And the spine-tingling atmosphere has stayed as one of the former Chelsea midfielder’s big memories ever since.He said: ‘I thought about that semi-final, when I ran on to the field and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. ‘I was thinking about playing in that atmosphere every week and that swung it for me. It’s the thing I am most looking forward to – you talk to Liverpool players and talk about the European nights.

Red alert: Liverpool new boy Joe Cole said he left Chelsea to sign for the biggest club in England’I experienced that as an opponent and it was immense. To go out there and play in that atmosphere every week will be phenomenal.’

( Daily Mail )