By Mike Slater

23rd Dec, 2021 | 11:30am

BBC share major update on Rangers capacity at Ibrox as winter break brought forward

The SPFL is very hopeful that full capacity crowds will be able to return at Rangers and the Scottish Premiership after the winter break.

That’s according to the BBC, who have shared the major update as the break was brought forward after Boxing Day.

Rangers will play St Mirren in front of 500 fans at Ibrox on Sunday before sitting out of action until mid-January.

Rangers were one of two clubs in the Scottish Premiership to turn down the proposal to bring forward the break, with Ross County the other.

Those who backed the decision and were successful in the end insist it was for the fans, but it is no coincidence that they have injury or slight issues with COVID.

Neil Doncaster spoke out regarding the development and the main reasons behind it in the past 24 hours.

“It’s really important – the clubs felt this – that we should give every possible chance for fans to be present at what are key games in the fixture calendar,” he said.

No chance.

Does anyone in the SPFL really expect packed out capacities to be back in Scotland in three weeks time?

Unfortunately, we see no chance of that happening, with Nicola Sturgeon and her government strict in their ways.

With COVID numbers rising, we all expected this, although it doesn’t make the limited capacities easier to swallow.

What was the difference in playing the two games before the originally planned date for the break? That way, football wouldn’t return until later in January.

Based on that, there would be more chance to get full capacities back in stadiums, but it looks as though the fans have been used as a smokescreen.

In other Rangers news, an official club partner has fired back at Tom English after his latest bitter jibe at the Bears