New Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh insists he can lead the club back to the top of Scottish football again, but admits it won’t be easy.

The Ibrox side finished last season 17 points behind Celtic, who clinched their fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title, and 13th in the last 14 seasons.

Cavenagh, who is leading the US consortium that acquired a 51 per cent stake in Rangers last month, is now targeting long-term success at the club.

He also discussed the potential of expanding Ibrox, Champions League football, transfers and the appointment of Russell Martin…

How does he feel about trying to catch Celtic?

He said: “We relish that challenge. We are impatient, we are competitive, and so we look forward to the challenge.

“We think it is achievable or we wouldn’t be here [to make Rangers the top team in Scotland].

“We don’t think it will be easy. It is not going to happen instantaneously but we will strive to improve the on-field performance and we will continue to build the infrastructure of the club.

“If we didn’t think we could win, we wouldn’t be here. We are here because we think we can.

“There is real work to be done, I think everyone is aware of that. Paraag and I, we share our supporters’ sense of urgency. We are in with both feet today and we will move this forward as fast as we can.”

When asked how far away he thinks Rangers are from realising their full potential, Cavenagh said: “I would give you the simple answer which is we have been finishing second and we would like to finish first. We are one position away from where we would like to be.”

“When I think about the short term, I don’t focus on challenges; I focus on opportunities. We have what I believe are the right plans, and we are beginning to have the right team in place, and by that I mean the staff, not the squad – that will continue to change over the summer.

“Instead of thinking of things that keep you awake at night I think of the opportunities in front of us. This club has so much potential and we are eager to take that potential energy and turn it into kinetic energy.”

‘Expanding Ibrox is of interest’

The topic of expanding Ibrox has never been too far away, with Rangers boasting a sizeable season ticket waiting list.

It was confirmed at the club’s EGM that various options on improving the stadium were under discussion, but Cavenagh insists that is not his immediate focus.

He said: “The expansion of Ibrox is something of interest to us but not one of our short-term goals.

“Right now, we’re focused on improving on-pitch performance as well as the infrastructure of the club itself.

“Any increase in revenue we can get, we’ll put it back on to the pitch.

“There are lots of different levers to pull on, certainly more than on the commercial side.”

The ‘lightning bolt moment’

Cavenagh had been in talks over leading the US takeover of Rangers since last October, and has explained how he first became aware of the opportunity, plus what attracted him to Glasgow.

“I was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, outside a coffee shop about to go to a New York Yankees game,” he said.

“I’ve known about Rangers forever as a football fan. So when the phone call came to ask if I’d have an interest, it was a lightning bolt moment.

“The call was from Les Allan, a banker in New York. I had met him six months prior and he knew our group was interested in a rare but good opportunity in football.

“Les called me and I said absolutely. Three seconds later I was on the phone to Paraag.

“There are many things about this club that are attractive. But the big three are the supporters – the breadth and depth of the fanbase is incredible. We’ve not seen many other clubs in Europe with this sort of scope and passion.

“Ibrox is an incredibly magical place to attend as a supporter.

“And the competitions in which we play, the league, the cups and Europe.”

What did he say about transfers?

Rangers have agreed a deal with Bournemouth to sign defender Max Aarons, while they hold an interest in the likes of Leicester’s Conor Coady, out-of-contract winger Kwame Poku and more.

While Cavenagh insists the club are in a “different” position this summer compared to last, he did admit he is open to selling players for the right fee going forward.

“This is an area where we will be really opaque. The window isn’t something that just one thing that opens and closes the way it sounds like. There are lots of different concurrent things happening over the summer.

“The only thing I would say is that the club is in a different position this year, where we can be patient from a financial perspective. When there is the right opportunity, we will jump at it, and where it is right to be slow, we will be slow.

“The world of football is one where you acquire players and they move on for bigger fees. That is part of the financial model for any club. At any club that is not one of the top five in the world, players are not permanent, and players will at times move on, and clubs will make a fee for them, and it is good for the club and good for the players.”

What about the £20m investment?

Cavenagh was speaking following the club’s EGM where a £20m investment from the US group was voted through in return for more shares.

Some supporters questioned if more would be forthcoming, and Cavenagh said: “£20m is the amount of primary capital that we are putting in. We have been careful not to say we won’t put more in, and not to say we will put more in.

“When we think about the amount of capital that is needed, we look at it through three lenses. The first is, what impact will it have? We’re not being specific about where the £20m is going, but we think £20m is the right amount this summer. The other two lenses that we look through are PSR and making sure we are running the club in a sustainable way.

“We are not looking for what I think of as the sugar high – come in spend some money, sign some players and try to win something and then you have the sugar crash that comes from that.”

How important is Champions League football?

Rangers face Panathinaikos in their Champions League second-round qualifier next month, with two more rounds of fixtures thereafter, if they are successful against the Greek side.

Cavenagh admits mixing with Europe’s elite is the goal and will help generate more revenue, but insists plans are in place if they fail to get there.

“Champions League is the goal we are trying to get to every year. Every year that is our goal and we have to get through three matches, or three sets of matches and that won’t be easy. It is important because it brings more revenue. It will always be our benchmark.

“We have plans for anything. It is not as if we are banking on that and if it doesn’t happen then there is some sort of a problem. That is not the case at all, but it is our goal.

“As we increase revenue, which comes from the Champions League, then we get to reinvest that in the club. That is why it is the goal from both a sporting perspective and the revenue model perspective.”

Why was Russell Martin appointed?

Cavenagh was one of the key figures who signed off on the appointment of new head coach Russell Martin, after a process that saw Rangers hold talks with various candidates including Davide Ancelotti and Steven Gerrard.
When asked why the former Southampton boss is the right choice, he said: “There were four criteria that we looked at for head coach.

“One, somebody that would coach what we think is the right style of play or game model. Two, someone would build the culture and the way we think it needs to be build. Three, someone who will develop talent. And four, someone who will win matches. Russell was the standout across all of those metrics, unanimously among our team. We are thrilled to have Russell as our head coach.”