Ex-SPFL chief makes huge Rangers Ibrox claim, predicts logistical nightmare and moots 'clever' exit timing

Rangers could be shut out of their Ibrox home for the entirety of the 24/25 season and forced to relocate to Murrayfield, according to a former Scottish Premiership chief.

The Glasgow giants confirmed that the club’s opening home games against Motherwell and Ross County in August would need to be moved to an alternative venue after "a delay in a materials shipment from Asia" affected repair work in the Copland Stand. It was later reported that the Light Blues have held talks over a temporary move to Edinburgh’s 67,144-seater Murrayfield Stadium - the home of Scottish rugby - as the club searches for a venue to play their opening games.

Planned work in the stadium is also set to have an impact on Rangers’ first Champions League qualifying games, with Philippe Clement's team due to enter the tournament at the third qualifying round on August 6/7. While the club hope to return to their Ibrox surroundings as soon as possible, former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, believes the Gers are now facing the real possibly of a season-long spell in the Scottish capital, as they face up to a logistics nightmare.

“It’s in Edinburgh, not Glasgow – that’s the only key factor,” said Wyness on the prospect of playing at Murrayfield. “There are a lot of issues around that, in terms of policing or transport. It could be three months, it could be six months – it could even be a whole season. We’ve seen Spurs move into Wembley and other clubs relocating, but that’s usually when clubs are rebuilding a stadium. In this case, it’s just about repairs. There’s no big gain at the end, it’s just a loss of revenue.

The former Dons chief also called into question the timing of CEO James Bisgrove’s departure from Glasgow, who departed earlier this month in order to take up the reins at Saudi Pro Club Al-Qadsiah. “I noticed the chief executive has gone to Saudi Arabia,” said Wyness. “That could be quite clever timing on his part. Someone has got to have known about this for a while. I wouldn’t like to be the one left to sort this all out.”

The club announced Bisgrove would depart in May after five years at the helm and revealed that John Bennett would assume the role of Executive Chairman on an interim basis. Bennett’s appointment was to “ensure continuity and support to the wider executive team as they focus on executing our plans for the summer, both on and off the pitch”, said the club’s official statement.