It is a time of change at Ibrox. In the past month, Rangers have appointed a new manager, Philippe Clement, and discussed having club legend Graeme Souness return as a consultant.
The Full Scottish
Now, there is talk of expanding their home ground, as confirmed by chief executive James Bisgrove and reported by the Scottish Sun. The plan would see the stands behind each goal expanded to increase stadium capacity by 37%.
Currently, Ibrox is the fourth-largest stadium in Scotland in terms of spectator capacity, behind Murrayfield, Celtic Park and Hampden.
Rangers have already renovated luxury boxes and restaurants at the ground and hired former trialist and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to create a high-end eatery on site.
All of this, of course, is about catching rivals Celtic both on and off the park. Rangers currently sit five points behind the Hoops in the table, but the Bhoys have secured 11 of the past 12 top-flight crowns, winning five domestic trebles over that period.
Reports also suggest the Hoops financial shape is far superior to that of their crosstown rivals.
Still, in the aftermath of Celtic’s “embarrassing” (to quote captain Callum McGregor) defeat to Atletico Madrid Tuesday in Champions’ League play, pundits and punters alike have begun to ask whether winning the perennial two-horse race is enough for these once-mighty clubs and their supporters.
We could give or take the BBC’s Tom English, but he makes a valid point when he asks, “What are Celtic about? Are they just about domestic dominance? Is beating Rangers enough, or do they have more ambition than that?”
Frankly, if the roles were reversed, you could probably ask the same questions, though ’Gers did make the Europa League final not all that long ago.
These are questions for the hierarchies at the respective clubs, but also for Scottish football in general.
The problem is they know the questions. They just don’t have the answers.