Ibrox view: Rangers embarrassed as Dundee & Celtic appear to fire digs over new fiasco

Rangers have revealed an unwelcome new development that looks set to see the club unable to play at Ibrox at the start of next season and rival clubs appear to have taken advantage.

The Light Blues issued a statement on 20 June saying that work on the Copland Stand had been delayed by a shipment of materials from Asia, meaning that games will likely be impacted, with the club “deeply disappointed” by the situation.

Daily Record journalist Andy Newport went further in reporting via Twitter the same day that the Gers are expected to be away from the stadium for a month, potentially effecting as many as five games in all competitions.

He added that the board were “hugely angered” and a “senior” staff member has been sacked over the debacle.

Rangers face playing away from Ibrox in new season

Dundee’s social media admin appears not to have wasted any time in reacting with a two-word “morning all” post on Twitter on 21 June, accompanied by an eyes emoji to seemingly draw attention to the stadium issues.

The Light Blues had heavily criticised the club last season after a waterlogged pitch at Dens Park saw Philippe Clement’s side twice travel only to have the fixture postponed, issuing a statement on 10 April accusing their opponents of “negligence and unprofessionalism” over their facilities.

Rangers were rightly upset at the time as the disruption hardly seemed conducive to the squad maintaining strong form, and while it can hardly be blamed entirely for the failure to take advantage in the title race the goalless draw when the game was eventually played a month late on 17 May was a big blow.

So, after pushing for compensation from the Dark Blues, the Gers have clearly left themselves open to criticism in the opposite direction to then be unable use their own facilities thanks to an issue which much at least be their own fault in part if there has been a sacking over it.

Light Blues had hit out at Dens Park mess

And the timing of Celtic’s training centre update via Twitter later on 21 June hardly seems coincidental as they announced as Ibrox work grinds to a halt: “The Champions Forge ahead. Work progresses at pace at Celtic FC’s new East End Training Centre”.

Unfortunately it looks like Rangers have brought this embarrassment on themselves with regards to building work that had been announced over six months previously on 6 January and should have been planned to avoid this sort of disruption ahead of time.

It may prove to be a minor issue once the season kicks off but Clement is unlikely to be pleased as he is trying to get a new-look squad into a rhythm as quickly as possible, while it will likely have a negative effect on the club’s finances and cause unnecessary upheaval for fans once an alternative venue is arranged.

At best it looks disorganised and managed to detract from a day which otherwise would have been a positive one, with the arrival of Connor Barron from Aberdeen announced, so it is little surprise that two rival clubs appear to have taken advantage of the developments.

In other Rangers news, a Clement favourite now has his medical booked to join a new club.

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