In his first public address since being appointed as chairman in mid-December 2024, Fraser Thornton did not hold back in his assessment of Rangers' performance, stating that the club has been underperforming for at least a decade.
Speaking to hospitality clients at Ibrox, Thornton described the team's away form under boss Philippe Clement as “horrendous.”
Accompanied by new CEO Patrick Stewart, Thornton surprised punters as he engaged with fans and stakeholders in one of the stadium's lounges before the 3-0 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday night.
The qualified chartered accountant, who comes from a successful background in the international drinks industry, highlighted the historical challenges the club has faced and expressed concern over its current trajectory, particularly as they trail bitter rivals Celtic by 13 points in the Scottish Premiership. Although, he insisted it's not always just down to the manager.
Thornton also acknowledged the recent banner protests from The Union Bears, adding a light-hearted comment that reflected the frustrations felt by many loyal fans. His candid remarks underscore a commitment to addressing the issues head-on as Rangers look to improve both on and off the pitch.
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“It’s hugely appreciated by us - despite what the banners might say on the Copland Road! We do hugely value and respect everything you do for us. The other thing we wanted to touch on a little bit… I’m sure you you would have seen the media conference output that Patrick led for us and we wanted to give a little bit of context around where our thinking is with some of this in case you were thinking we have completely lost the place in terms of management and that sort of thing. It’s not like that.
“Of course we all know that results have been simply nowhere near good enough. It’s undeniable and well understood. I have to say home has been okay but away is horrendous. Honestly, the easy the thing to do would be just to say ‘let’s change the manager and move on’.
"But you know if you really sit back and reflect on it a little bit and you say it’s actually season upon season upon season that the results haven’t been good enough. It’s 10 years. It’s not even one or two years. It’s ten. It’s a decade of underperformance that we’ve got.
“We haven’t managed to have a team that’s been capable of winning week in, week out and challenging domestically. It’s a decade. So it’s not just a managerial thing - there are many other issues at play. And with that in mind and under Patrick’s expert guidance we said ‘Look, we need to take a long hard look at our footballing actives but actually all of our activities, but first of all our football activities, hence the operational review that we announced. So that’s the rationale and the context behind this.”
