Rangers target improved player trading after announcing slim profit 

Rangers have released their annual accounts, with the Ibrox club showing an operating profit of £252,000 for the past financial year.

The profit figure is for the year up to June 2023 and was including in the club’s annual report.

While the club has reported a profit for the second successive year, it is a significant drop from the operating profit of £5.9m the previous year and Rangers have targeted improvement, with consistent returns from player sales looked on as an area the club wants to see a focus on.

Rangers chairman John Bennett highlighted turnover of £83.8m, down £3m from last year’s record figure, he said there was “still much work to be done”.

“The club has, for the second year in succession, returned an operating profit,” Bennett wrote in the report. “Turnover for the year to 30 June 2023 was £83.8m, generating an operating profit of £252k.

“While successive years of operating profitability can be seen as encouraging, especially in light of what had gone before, there is still much work to be done. The club vision must be simple and clear: sustainable success. This applies both on and off the pitch and it must be a mantra by which all at the club live.

“Football is a business which is particularly prone to being reactive. While this may be inherent to the industry, sustainable success can only come when we are systematic in our processes and in our actions. It is my firm conviction that this is a pre-cursor to returning the club to the status of serial winners.

“I have talked previously of the four components of financial sustainability: season ticket sales, commercial revenue, European football and player trading. While the first of these components will never be taken for granted, it is the fourth that requires attention.

“Player trading will always be inherently volatile, yet Rangers must replace sporadic ‘wins’ with systematic success. It is a given that it all begins with player recruitment. This is an area of priority for your board, and we anticipate that the coming months will see a strengthening in the leadership and processes of our football department, specifically with this in mind.”

Rangers’ last report had included the sale of Nathan Patterson to Everton for a then club record fee, and the club also received £4.25m compensation for former manager Steven Gerrard and his backroom staff when they were recruited by Aston Villa.

While the past year has included the significant returns from selling Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo, subsequent departures of Glen Kamara, Antonio Colak, Fashion Sakala Jnr and Lewis Mayo have not been for comparable sums. The club has also dismissed managers Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale in little over a year.

Rangers have since appointed Belgian manager Philippe Clement and the report said that the club was looking forward to contesting the Viaplay Cup final and targeting further silverware under Clement and his backroom staff.

In his own address in the report, the manager said that his intention was to build a team that would be capable of “winning trophies on a regular basis”.

“This is one of the iconic names of European football, and it is a real honour to have been asked to lead it forward,” he wrote. “Since my appointment, I have spent time assessing the squad and everything around our men’s first-team to set us up to be successful in the future.

“I am a winner – I have won as a player, I have won as a manager, and now I want to win here at Rangers. This club is built on collecting trophies on a regular basis – that has to be our objective both this season and in the seasons ahead.

“In my discussions with the board prior to being offered the job, we were very clear with each other on what we believe is required here to improve us on the pitch, what we expect from each other and our shared desire to be successful. That strong bond between myself, James Bisgrove, our CEO, Creag Robertson, our director of football operations and the wider board and executive team will be crucial going forward.

“As I intimated when I joined the club, and on occasions since, we are stronger when we are all pulling in the one direction. Our supporters are such a massive asset for us at home and away, and what you can add to us on a matchday can make all the difference.

“I have been humbled by the welcome I have received from you all, and myself and my staff are determined to repay you for that.”

The club has also announced that their AGM will take place at Edmiston House on Tuesday, December 5 at 10.30am

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