Rangers and SFA head for high-level talks with date set for John Bennett and Ian Maxwell sit down amid frosty relationship
There is a date in the dairy for a meeting between new Rangers chairman John Bennett and SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell, the latter has revealed.
The relationship between the club and the governing body has been frosty for much of the decade since the major financial problems of 2012.
But amid major upheaval within the Ibrox hierarchy Maxwell is hoping to improve that, with the new regime headed up by Bennett following Douglas Park’s abrupt departure on 4 April.
The SFA chief exec said, as per Football Scotland: “I don’t know the new chairman John particularly well but we’ve got a meeting in the diary to sit down and get to know each other and take things from there. If we are going to grow and continue to develop then we all need to be doing it together.
“There’s been a bit of change but I’m looking forward to getting to know the new guys at Rangers well and progressing that relationship.”
Improvement?
We are clearly entering a new era at Ibrox with Bennett replacing Park, and James Bisgrove stepping into Stewart Robertson’s CEO role.
Those are only the headline moves from weeks of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring and departures, and it appears Maxwell sees it as an opportunity to break the ice.
Assuming some sort of understanding can be reached at the meeting then it should be of benefit to the club who have at times been left as a lone entity in the Scottish football landscape.
If an improved relationship with the SFA can be established, then perhaps the same can be done with the SPFL after repeated stand-offs amid sponsorship disputes.
There is no use to having a contrary viewpoint to the authorities and other clubs if they are able to ignore the position at Ibrox, so it would be a positive to have a better working relationship.
That is often easier said than done however, so the proof in this instance will come in the actions on either side after the meeting, but Bennett has the chance to start somewhat anew here.
In other Rangers news, a transfer that was deemed to be out of the club’s price range could be more affordable than first thought thanks to clauses in the player’s deal which only benefit the Gers.