Mark Allen’s Rangers announcement should have both players and supporters delighted.
Rangers have long needed some upgrades to Ibrox stadium, and it finally looks as though the club are going to get it. The Director of Football has revealed plans to improve the stadium facilities.
This will be designed to give players the best preparation ahead of matches in the future. The initial upgrades don’t appear to affect fans in any way, but with performance-improvement at the forefront of the club’s aims. The club, however, have goals to try and improve the match-day experience for supporters in the future.
The club will start work on a new youth complex at Auchenhowie later this month. And Allen, speaking to Rangers TV, outlined his vision for the projects.
“We started here (Hummel Training Centre) with some of the pitches and team facilities and the next phase is to fine tune some of the stuff at Ibrox. That will mean the match day experience for the players is right and proper for what you would expect in an elite environment.
“There will be a dining area for the players to have a pre-match meal, there will be a players’ lounge, a gym area to get ready for games. The manager will become closer to the changing room. It is all part and parcel of the bigger picture.
“We’ve got some very ambitious plans, both on our own and working with the council for project 2022. We’re looking at complete improvement and refurb of the surrounds of the ground and really redeveloping the stadium completely. And that would be a very, very significant improvement in terms of the match day experience for fans.”
Supporters at the forefront of club’s thoughts
It’s good to see Rangers putting supporters at the forefront of their minds. It’s also supremely wise strategically from the Ibrox club ahead of what will be a busy period of the season.
Results recently have been lukewarm, but it’s good for the club to continue the feel-good factor with this news. Supporters are likely to be delighted with the news of future developments.
Allen has still to truly outline what these plans are. It feels as though any stadium upgrades that benefit supporters are in their early stages.
More interestingly, however, is the news that Rangers are set to upgrade their player facilities. It’s a surprise to hear that club don’t already have a dining area for the players pre-match. A gym area and a lounge is an absolute must for big clubs, and it’s good to see Rangers joining in with this train of thought.
It looks as though Rangers are putting their players and supporters at the forefront of their minds. In turn, this should simply help the club grow off the pitch as it continues to do so on it.
