Andrew Cavenagh says the new regime at Ibrox is convinced they’ll return Rangers to the top of Scottish football.
Three weeks after the American consortium took control, its initial £20m investment was waved through at a general meeting in Glasgow on Monday morning.
And health care tycoon Cavenagh, the club’s new chairman, immediately set the goal of ending Celtic’s domination of the domestic game.
‘We think it is achievable, or we wouldn’t be here,’ said the businessman.
‘We don’t think it will be easy. It is not going to happen instantaneously, but we will strive to improve the on-field performance and we will continue to build the infrastructure of the club.
‘If we didn’t think we could win, we wouldn’t be here. We are here because we think we can.
New Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe at Ibrox
Cavenagh and Marathe are flanked by fellow board members Thornton and Stewart at the EGM
Cavenagh says he ‘felt the history’ of the club as he walked up the marble staircase at Ibrox
‘There is real work to be done, I think everyone is aware of that.
‘Paraag (Marathe, vice-chairman) and I are two of the least patient people you will meet and we are also incredibly competitive. So, we share our supporters’ sense of urgency. We are in with both feet today and we will move this forward as fast as we can.’
Meeting the media for the first time, Cavenagh revealed how he was persuaded to get involved with Rangers, and disclosed the new board’s plans for the future including the redevelopment of Ibrox.
In a wide-ranging interview, he also explained how the new regime want to make Rangers Champions League regulars, why they feel Russell Martin is the right man to deliver that and the need to run the club sustainably.
Keen to stress that he and his colleagues are in for the long haul, Cavenagh is adamant they won’t rest until they believe Rangers is fulfilling its potential
‘I would give you the simple answer which is we have been finishing second and we would like to finish first,’ he added. ‘We are one position away from where we would like to be.’
Cavenagh has insisted he will be impatient as he tries to plot a course back to the top
Cavenagh vowed that he and his fellow directors will try to honour the club’s history by writing a glorious new chapter.
‘It’s a physical experience when you walk upstairs,’ he said. ‘You walk up the marble stairs and the hall and the Blue Room and the trophy room in particular and you can just feel the history in the club.
‘There is no other way to describe it, you walk in and you instantly feel indebted to what has gone before you, but you also have the desire to do everything you possibly can to not just continue the history, but to improve the trajectory.’
