Chairman: We are all Aligned

In an exclusive sit down with RangersTV, Bennett insists everyone is ‘all in’ as he provided an update on a number of topics including the Copland Stand works, the playing squad and the club’s finances.

When asked about the current transfer window, and the support for manager Philippe Clement, Bennett said: “I'd like to think that people can see the complexion this window has is long-term as well as short term.

“We will never lose that need to win every game, every trophy we go for that is our aim, but if you only recruit for the next season say, that is where you get into that loop.

“Philippe said to me at the start of May when we sat down, ‘John this is a bigger rebuild than I expected’ and that is what he was referring to recently about expectations when he came in and expectations in May. I said ‘Philippe, me too’ not least given the investment we put in the prior year. So that is what we have got, we need to grip it and he gets that.

“If you only recruit with the short term in mind, that player trading model that people like to talk about will remain the stuff of myth, and we have to make it a reality. Look at the amount of changes this club has had in recent years at manager level for example. I have said to my board colleagues and to others, while I am chairman, I want to end the years of rinse and repeat and I think you know what I am talking about, by October there are big changes at the club which are hugely damaging at every level.

“That must end, we must all be all in, Philippe is all in, we are all aligned, and we have to deliver that very tricky challenge we have to rise to.”

On Philippe Clement, and the impact of the Belgian since he took over as manager back in October, Bennett continued: “Philippe brought a lot of things, a lot of the right things. He brought leadership, which is crucial, he has brought vision, and he is all in.

“When Philippe has been asked in the media about incomings and the transfer strategy and recruitment strategy, he has been very very clear. He has nailed it, we endorse it and that is about recruiting for the long-term as well as for the short-term.

“He has also gone further, and he has said recruiting only for the short term has caused problems historically, I completely endorse that. Even to the point of saying lessons, and at times brutal lessons, have been learned.

“This is a really tricky one in terms of the balance of the situation you have to navigate, this is not easy, and it is not going to be easy. Rangers will always have imperative number one, it needs to win. This is a club that needs to win. I have spoken to a number of clubs in Europe that they don't need to win their league, and it is quite an interesting conversation because I would contend, they get a lot more time to build a player trading model or any model.

“At a club like Rangers you don't get time, so imperative number one you have got to win, that won't change. The second imperative is if you are really serious about building, and it probably frustrates me as much as it frustrates every Rangers supporter, I hear a lot about this almost mythical player trading model, but it is not up and running - I don't see it. That would be an accurate observation and criticism.

“If you are going to build a truly sustainable operating player trading model, if you are going to be serious about doing that then you have to invest in player recruitment for the long term as well as the short term and that is a really challenging route to navigate and it is not done in one window.”

Ending with a message to the supporters, Bennett said: “I guess, because I am one of them it is a message for me as well, and I don't make any bones about it that this has been probably the biggest challenge I have faced. You get challenges in your personal life, family life and those are the big challenges in life, but outside of that it is the biggest challenge I have faced. You need to rise to challenges, you don't really have a choice, you can either fold, or not but we don't fold.

“Rangers people and Rangers fans, we have been through adversity, a lot of adversity in its glorious history and this is a moment of adversity that is painful, bruising, and challenging but this club has got a remarkable ability to rise to challenges and it'll do that.

“I have talked about the challenges right there, the stand, the project, never forget for whom we are doing it and who we are doing everything for - the fans. We are here to win for them, we will complete that project for our people, so it is a moment of adversity we have been through adversity before this club, bigger, way bigger so we don't get consumed by this, we stand up, we grab it we face it down and we finish the job.”