The Rangers chairman admits it is unlikely that the Copland Stand works will EVER be completed on time

JOHN GILLIGAN has admitted he had doubts about whether construction work on the Copland Road Stand at Ibrox this summer would be finished on time, even BEFORE the shipping delay that forced Rangers out of Ibrox.

The president of the Gers explained that even if all the construction materials had arrived on time, it was unlikely that the project would have been finished in time for the start of the season.

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The Rangers were left fighting for a storm home when it became clear that Ibrox would not be ready for their opening games of the 2024/25 campaign.

After briefly exploring the use of Murrayfield in Edinburgh, the Light Blues reached an agreement with the SFA to use Hampden.

Gers returned to their home ground at the end of last month and there have been divided opinions on the look of the new stand.

While supporters were overwhelmingly happy to be back at Ibrox, the whole debacle left a sour taste in fans’ mouths.

Indeed, even as recently as last weekend’s game against Kilmarnock, the board were accused of “mismanagement” by a section of the Gers faithful.

And this latest revelation will do little to repair the damage done over the past few months.

Minutes to the last rangers fan forum show this current Interim Chairman Gilligan (JG) felt that the timetable was always ambitious, but insisted that lessons had been learned.

And with more works planned in the stadium following year, Gilligan told the Fan Advisory Council that serious considerations will be made in terms of planning to play away from Ibrox again (if the works go ahead).

The minutes sheet said: “JG acknowledged that important lessons had been learned, noting that the scale of the project was immense.

“He suggested that in futureif works of this or greater magnitude were to be undertaken, the club might have to plan for a period without the use of the stadium.

“SL (Stuart Langan) asked if having materials on site earlier would have allowed the project to be completed on time.

“JG expressed doubt that even with the materials in place, the project would have been completed on schedule.”

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