Rangers supporters clubs in Angus have received a boost despite the Light Blues plunging to Scottish football’s bottom tier.
Fans have vowed to continue to support Ally McCoist’s men home and away next season with new members also signing up to join the travelling army.
The newco Rangers’ first competitive game will be against Brechin City at Glebe Park in the Ramsdens Cup on July 28, with the all-ticket clash expected to sell out.
Montrose will also go up against Rangers on league duty in the coming season, which will mean a big boost for the finances of the Angus club whose average attendance was just 335 last season.
The Monifieth Loyal RSC bus usually takes between 40 and 50 fans to games and leaves from Arbroath Bus Station with pick-ups in Monifieth, Broughty Ferry and Dundee.
A spokesan for the club said it was awful Rangers were in this position but all members would be giving the team their full support in the coming season.
”Clearly this is a situation which is indeed sad. Yes it’s awful to see an institution such as Rangers in this position but we must get fully behind whoever is in charge and give them our full support.
”Ally McCoist has proven himself to be an amazing leader throughout the turmoil and he and the players who have opted to stay with the club deserve massive backing.
”What I think has been forgotten about throughout this sorry saga are the fans. We did not create this situation, but we are the ones who are really suffering.
”Some of the bitterness shown towards us by fans of other clubs is unsavoury to say the least. We are guilty of nothing other than supporting a team which has been mismanaged.”
Trips to Elgin, East Stirlingshire and Peterhead will be a new experience for the club which took around 50 members to Manchester for the Uefa Cup final in 2008.
However, any suggestion there would be a lack of interest in following the team’s Division Three campaign was dispelled not long after Friday’s majority vote was made by SFL chairmen.
The spokesman continued: ”From a club point of view, we recently held our annual general meeting at which we were delighted to learn that our club is in a sound financial position, having recorded a surplus.
”Since then we have received a boost with about half a dozen new members asking about our plans now that Rangers’ position in Division Three has been decided.”
The Gable Ender RSC from Montrose will also be following the club next season along with the Granite City RSC, which has pick-ups in Stonehaven.
Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Wire