John Gilligan has seen what a club in crisis looks like. Nine and a half years ago to be precise when he - alongside Dave King and Paul Murray - rode to the rescue of Rangers and freed them from the suffocating stranglehold of Mike Ashley.
The fact that, at 72-years-old, he has been tempted back into such a stress-filled position probably attests to that. Speaking publicly for the first time since his appointment, Gilligan said: “It is almost ridiculous to compare it. It would make my cry rather than laugh. Gilligan’s plan to bridge the gap is simple in explanation. But extremely difficult in practice. He said: “Player trading is the biggest success and qualification for the Champions League. It is a kind of Catch 22 – player trading gets you income, Champions League gets you income.
It’s one thing chasing but punters demand their arch rivals be caught. And soon. In an explosive statement last week King calculated Rangers would need £50m to meet short and medium objectives - claiming those figures would “never be raised under the current board structure”. “There will be investment. The current investors have invested considerably over the years and are willing to do so again.
They may be back home now. But there’s no sign of a new CEO at the helm yet. Gilligan insists they are well down the road with recruiting a “top-level candidate”. He said: “We are moving quickly on it. Recruitment in any walk of life is of the moment. The person needs to be multi-faceted and good at everything.