Rangers fans ‘kept their dignity’ after historic relegation to the fourth tier – Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson says Rangers fans “kept their dignity” after financial issues saw them expelled to the Scottish fourth tier in 2012.
In an interview with RangersTV (8 September), the Manchester United legend and former Gers player suggested that the Ibrox faithful conducted themselves in a dignified manner in their four-year journey back to the top flight when 10 out of 12 SPFL sides voted to remove Rangers from the league.
Ferguson noted that the remaining clubs and the league in general “were missing” the travelling Gers fans, who could have been cold to the prospect of returning to the teams who expelled them.
Speaking to RangersTV, as quoted by The Herald (13 September), Ferguson said: “I think it was a lesson to the ones who voted to put them out because the crowds went down, they were missing the Rangers fans.
“I can’t remember all the reasons why that happened but they could have found a better solution to it because at the end of the day the health of the game is derived around supporters and those supporters weren’t there.
“But to get back, it was a long journey, it wasn’t overnight.
“I was surprised about Rangers, after they got back in the Premier League, [the fans] still travelled. They could easily have said ‘Well I’m not going there, you voted us out’. But they kept their dignity.”
Solid fanbase
Rangers’ forced relegation outside the professional Scottish leagues was a significant moment in recent Scottish football history.
The Gers finished second in the top flight in 2011/12, but liquidation saw them plummet to the then-called-Third Division, now the fourth tier.
After back-to-back promotions and two seasons in the Championship, the Gers finally returned to the top of the Scottish game, marking their comeback with a third-place finish.
While SFA chief executive Stewart Regan’s claims, as quoted by Fox Sports at the time (14 July 2012), that Rangers’ expulsion would cause the “slow, lingering death” of the Scottish game did not come to fruition, Ferguson does touch upon the void left in the game with the Gers’ removal.
While fans would be understandably cold towards all ten teams who voted them out, with Kilmarnock being the only side to abstain from voting, it would be unlikely to reject the chance to face top-flight opposition again.
But praise from a Scottish football great will always be welcomed by the Ibrox faithful, who as Fergie rightly suggests, are the “health of the game”.
In other Rangers news, Todd Canwell has sent an England international star a message after Scotland’s defeat against the Three Lions.