JAMES BISGROVE has highlighted the importance of the club’s engagement with supporters as he prepares to become Rangers’ new CEO at the end of July.
The current Commercial and Marketing Director will take over from the departing Stewart Robertson on July 31 as the club continues a transformation both off and on the pitch.
Speaking to RangersTV exclusively for the first time since his appointment in his new role, the incoming CEO believes the club’s communication with its fanbase is vitally important.
He said: “The genesis of that is a real understanding and appreciation from myself, John, the rest of the board and all the senior management of the football club, that the supporters are integral to everything that we do here at Rangers. We talk about the number around season tickets, memberships, how many shirts that we sell and Rangers TV subscriptions, but none of the success that we are able to achieve is going to be possible without the supporters.
“It is absolutely right that there is a two-way dialogue and frequent communication between leadership at the club and supporter groups. This is going to be an area where I will apply a lot of emphasis, focus and energy on my own time and the time of the team around me. We will put a number of tangible aspects in place. We will have a quarterly CEO fan forum at Edmiston House, an opportunity for supporters to come and ask questions for matters that are important to them, where will we provide different updates.
“We are looking to construct a fans’ advisory board that will have direct access to myself and to the leadership at the club to make sure that we have got two-way dialogue and communication. We will also talk to all of the supporter groups. They are all Rangers fans and want the team on the park to be successful and to be winning trophies, but they might look at objectives in different ways.
“In the last few weeks there have been meetings with the Union Bears and the Rangers Supporters Association, I’ve been talking to NARSA, ORSA, and Dubai Loyal in the Middle East, to make sure we talk to supporters that come to Ibrox on a matchday but also supporters that are following from afar. It is something that Rangers fans are going to see a lot more of and it is right for the club to take that strategy, and it is something that is important to everyone in a leadership position at Rangers.”
Bisgrove has thanked fans for their continuous ‘phenomenal’ support as it was announced season ticket renewals were close to hitting the 45,000 mark for the new campaign, as he encouraged fans to attend Ibrox this weekend in support of the women’s side as they look to retain the Park’s Motor Group SWPL title against Glasgow City on Sunday afternoon.
He added: “It is just phenomenal the backing that Rangers supporters give to this football club. We have just finished season ticket renewals that have gained record numbers in terms of the renewals. I think we are up at close to 45,000 season tickets renewed, nearly 2,000 seasonal hospitality places renewed at the stadium.
“MyGers memberships, the ambition this year is to hit 60,000 memberships at one of the biggest membership programmes anywhere in British football. It is that backing that really is the lifeblood of the club, it gives so much enthusiasm and confidence to everyone that works here at Ibrox or at the Training Centre and the players.
“It really is a phenomenal backing and on behalf of the Chairman and the board we are thanking supporters again for giving us that commitment and helping us build that optimism to next season is something that is really important.
“If I can look even a bit more short-term, we have got a massive weekend ahead of us here at Ibrox with the women's team that are competing to potentially win the SWPL. Already it looks like we are going to have a record crowd.
“I would really encourage supporters to come down and support the women's team, tickets are £1 for adults with a season ticket or a MyGers membership free for kids, so we are hoping to get a great support and atmosphere for the women's team on Sunday to hopefully lift another trophy for Rangers.”