Rangers financial chief admits transfer strategy 'has not been working' as AGM draws audible gasps in £800k blunder

Audience members at Rangers' AGM were stunned to learn that the club lost five first-team players for money in the summer - thought a measly total fee of just under £1million was confirmed as their rebuild was laid bare on Thursday

In another summer of change for the Light Blues, most of their old guard departed Ibrox with the likes of John Lundstram, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack and Connor Goldson all departing after years of service.

Of the quartet, Goldson was the only one who commanded a fee as he was the solo man still in contract; but that didn't stop the likes of Todd Cantwell and Sam Lammers departing the club for, what fans hoped, would be a decent wad of cash.

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However, with shareholders asking Chief Financial Officer James Taylor about the fees involved after reports from the Daily Record that they had received under £1million for the quintet, he confirmed their worst fears to audible gasps at the Clyde Auditorium, accepting that their transfer model has simply 'not been working'. He said: “Yes, confirmed. £800,000 is indeed the number.

“In terms of the player trading model, it’s not been working. It’s not been working for a number of years. That isn’t a new problem for this football club. It’s an on-going problem that we need to address and we need to take a different view on.

“Historically, the player acquisition strategy is very different to what’s been looked at last summer. And certainly yes there was an intention to reduce the wage bill but again, when you look at a player trading model, typically you are looking 12, 18, 24 months out from the investment when you see the outcome. So what we’re seeing now is the continued challenges of decisions made 12, 18, 24 months ago.

"There is no guarantee of success with transfers but what we can do is stick to principles and look to enhance the value of the squad while at the same time bringing players in at more sustainable levels. Then we give ourselves more opportunity to be able to get that gem and sell that gem and really get the virtuous circle going.”