Reality of their financial situation finally hits Rangers

Rangers have taken a major step with the Ibrox club under financial strain and it will hopefully be a reality check to some of their fans.

It is safe to say that Rangers fans have been brought back down to Earth with a crash. It was not too long ago that they were busy mocking Celtic for deciding to furlough the non-playing staff.

According to some of their fans, such a step was beneath the Ibrox club and would never be taken. Funnily enough, it did not take the Rangers club too long to take the exact same step.

In fact, their financial situation is so dire that the first-team squad, the manager and his staff and even the executive directors have also agreed to defer their wages for three months. And it is hard not to be amused by the irony of the situation though.

Steven Gerrard spoke to Rangers TV regarding their decision to defer their wages. As reported by the BBC, he said:

"“I think it was a no brainer and the right thing to do.“I think it’s important you show respect to all the people at the club whatever your role is, and I think we have shown real good togetherness by doing this.“I’m very proud of the efforts and support of everyone at the club. I think it was unanimous everyone wanted to do this.”"

Some Rangers fans were still under the impression that their players had decided to take the step just so that the non-playing would not be placed under furlough.

The reality is very different though. The statement on their official website reads as follows:

"Due to the extraordinary challenges from the ongoing crisis, Rangers intends to implement the Coronavirus job retention scheme for a number of employees.Rangers will ensure that everyone furloughed under this government scheme will receive 100 per cent salary through ‘top up’ assistance from the club with all other conditions and benefits remaining unchanged."

The exact same thing that they were crucifying Celtic for doing just a few days back. Oh the irony!

Now just so that this is clear, everyone involved will still have to be paid what they are owed. They have just decided to postpone that payment for a period of three months. And that could easily create immense financial strain on the club when the time comes to pay them at the end of that three month period.

It is not just Rangers though who are in trouble right now. If football remains suspended for a considerable amount of time, every club will suffer especially the smaller ones. So we can only hope that things are back to normal as soon as possible.