Alastair Johnston sat in front of the assembled media for the first time on 'Rangers business' this Monday and the chance was there to fill in some of the blanks surrounding both his appointment and the troubles at the club. He succeeded, and fairly comfortably. The man himself comes across as a forthright and intelligent businessman, determined to make every word count and obviously aware of how the media can pick sections and twist them: his answers were detailed and clear whilst never turning to unnecessary waffle. He fielded every question in a frank and open manner and yet never let slip any small detail that might come back and bite him. His performance was polished, with the 'umms'' and 'erm's' only adding a little of the human touch.
Johnston, in his Scots-American drawl, told us that he was initially asked by Sir David Murray to consider the chairmanship as long as seven months ago. Only after six months of conversations with every relevant person, from the rest of the board to the senior management, did he decide to accept the honour. At first glance it may be hard to understand why a supporter of the club might appear to be reluctant to take over the reins, but his insistence of having agreement from the board and people he would be working with indicates that he wanted to ensure the minimum disruption and maximise the possibilities of a successful stewardship. Blindly rushing into the job could have simply caused a period of upheaval to be more fraught with problems than a calm, considered approach, and Johnston appears to be nothing if not calm and measured. I also think there may have been a little self-preservation employed during this period of contemplation. His job has been made somewhat easier by the fact Murray remained at the helm during a summer that saw the squad decimated and only one player arrive at Ibrox: being associated with that level of disturbance would not have endeared the man to the support and by waiting he has allowed himself to arrive with almost a clean slate. Discussions with the banks were held too, and while Johnston declared unambiguously that the banks are not in control of the club, he did indicate a degree of co-operation, which is only to be expected considering the financial climate we exist within.
The role of the new chairman was laid out early for us, he himself declaring that his remit is many sided. Firstly, and most importantly for Johnston, is the Club's reliance on external finance. Rangers have suffered a seemingly non-stop cycle of boom and bust over the last 12 or so years, careening from periods of lavish spending to times of destructive famine. A reliance on money that is either invested by wealthy fans and groups (ENIC and Dave King) or simply borrowed on long term credit from banks is the short term route to trophies; over the longer term it stacks up troubles. It is heartening that the new chairman sees this as a priority job on his undoubtedly long 'to-do' list. The word 'stability' featured prominently in his interview and stability is something that is vital to our club and not to be confused with stagnancy. It is only from a stable bedrock that real improvements can be made; anything started while finances are in flux is liable to be derailed as obstacles are thrown up in the path of progress. Stability for Rangers would involve generating sufficient cash for us to thrive and invest in schemes that will bear fruit in the longer term while keeping a successful side on the park. From his starting position this is a larger task than might be apparent, the boom and bust formula has left us with legacies such as Murray Park but it has also left us with no appreciable scouting system and a youth department that seems to promise stars that never quite appear. Fundamental change is needed, and now it seems that there is a man in place with the drive to act upon the problems which are hampering our progress.
Johnston was asked what makes Rangers an attractive proposition to investors, either foreign or domestic. Firstly, Johnston would not be drawn into commenting on the potential of a move to the EPL, preferring instead to focus on actualities rather than hypothetical situations. Those actualities were that we punch above weight in terms of image, the passion of the fans, history, heritage, name and brand. There is little doubt that Rangers as a club are one of the world's most instantly recognizable and famous organisations; our environment hampers us to a large degree, but within that environment there is scope for real and beneficial change. The Champions League, says Johnston, is a suitable barometer for judging the success of the club. If we win domestically then European competition is almost assured, and this scope for advertising and TV cash is another draw for those who might be willing to pay the price asked for the club. Interestingly, Johnston twice put emphasis on the idea of a 'Foreign based Scot' as a suitable investor, rather than simply a 'Scot', or indeed a 'foreigner', Perhaps a hint of a future bid? It was stated clearly, however, that as of yet there had been no concrete offers or enquiries and that part of his job would be looking for a new owner.
For some supporters the biggest recent questions have surrounded finances. The indications given by the chairman remained similar to previous club statements; we have loans that need to be serviced and we cannot break loan covenants except for exceptions that we can justify. It was stated that the banks are 'on board' with the current changes at the club and are in fact helping the process, again indicating certain levels of co-operation rather than dictation. When asked about the chances of both strengthening the squad in January, or indeed being forced to sell players, Johnston refused to be drawn into a direct answer. The club is in flux, as are global finances and Johnston stated that with such a long time left to pass before the opening of the new window it would be pointless making announcements now about what may or may not happen. These comments will do little to ease worries of continued financial hardships at Rangers: they could be interpreted as a man avoiding saying something that might upset the support during his first interview as chairman. Personally I think that he is simply too wily to say anything now that might be raised in January should our situation change to any great degree. Throwaway comments about signing players or keeping others have a habit of being cast up should they be proven inaccurate and with the obvious media savvy shown throughout the interview it is relatively safe to assume that Johnston is simply ensuring he has no embarrassing questions to field at a later date
One thing that became very clear as the interview progressed is that Johnston has a deep respect for Walter Smith. At various points he told us that talks were on-going towards extending the manager's stay at Ibrox and it was indicated that money was at the centre of discussions: not the salaries involved but the budgets and operating constraints involved. Smith's seeming reticence to simply extend his stay is understandable. Within the current framework of the club he has once already began a process of changing the playing staff and addressing a poor run of results and league finishes. He succeeded in the short term but has been unable to capatalize on this change of fortunes because of the financial limitations, even if some may argue that these are self-inflicted problems. It is begining to look again that Smith has more 'steadying' to do, after a savage cull in squad players last summer and a lack of transfer cash, the job of continuing Rangers resurgence looks to be a difficult one as it is, without considering having to do it with no real investment in players. Walter Smith as manager for an extended period will not be to every FF'ers liking, but it would certainly fit with the stated desire for stability. If we were to look for wise and experienced heads to guide the playing staff through a transitional period then I think we would be doing very well if we found a name that fits better than Walter Smith.
An accusation levelled at Johnston by many is that he is simply a Murray 'Yes Man', in the job to take the heat from the departed chairman while he looks to off-load the club. There was plenty in this first interview to indicate otherwise. Johnston talked of 4-5-6 year plans, pointing towards him being in the job long after the club is sold, he talked of employing 'different business models', a statement that flirts with accusing Murray of running the club poorly and he talked about his role in Rangers progress west of the Atlantic. The entire interview had the tone of a man laying out his impression of where he was going to lead the club in the future - the ideas and methods remained vague but the statement of intent was clear. Time alone will tell if Johnston is to lead us into the future - any new owner might decide that he is not required in this role - but it appears that while he is at the helm we have a man that possesses the attributes to help us shake off the damaging and debilitating problems we have. He knows what those problems are and he knows what the solutions are. Perhaps the future is looking a little brighter than we thought.