Football finance expert Kieran Maguire hails 'huge' Rangers takeover

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has described the takeover of Rangers as “huge” for the club in their quest to compete at the top of Scottish football.

US health tycoon Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of American football team San Francisco 49ers, which also runs Leeds United, have bought 51% of the club’s shares and say they want to usher in a “new era” for the “iconic club”.

The Ibrox side finished a distant second to Celtic in the Premiership this season and are now on the hunt for a new manager to take them into the next campaign.

The new owners say the main goal is to bring the glory days back to Ibrox by winning trophies as they look to unseat the Hoops as the dominant force in Scotland.

Maguire admits that there is a “lot of work” to be done if they want to take over their city rivals but insists he would be “very pleased” with the takeover if he was a Rangers supporter.

Speaking to STV News after the takeover was confirmed on Friday, Maguire said: “For Rangers, it’s huge because you now have, first of all, there is the indication that they are going to put in £20m of working capital into the club.

“My understanding is that the majority of that is going to go into the recruitment and retention arm of Rangers Football Club rather than capex, rather than infrastructure projects.

“They have been outflanked by Celtic in recent years, and I think even the most ardent Rangers fan would admit that.

“So this now gives Rangers the opportunity to make some good decisions.

“If I was a Rangers fan I think I would be very pleased, the deal is now over the line and the fact there is additional cash coming into the club at a time when they are looking to recruit a manager and to recruit for the summer, I think all of this can be taken as a positive.

“At the same time, they have got a lot of work to do, because, as we all know, being second in the SPFL is being nowhere as far as fans of Rangers, and Celtic, are concerned.”