49ers writer Matt Maiocco offers his insight as to how the incoming Ibrox regime like to go about their business.
09:12, 10 Mar 2025
Matt Maiocco
The incoming Rangers regime know they'll have to prove themselves to fans, but won't shy away from wielding the axe and making difficult decisions.
That's the view of San Francisco 49ers writer Matt Maiocco, 49ers correspondent and expert for the Santa Rosa Press democrat. As revealed by Record Sport , the investment arm of the NFL franchise are closing in on a deal to buy the Ibrox club, with completion understood to be a matter of weeks away. Rangers fans have been clamouring for change at the top as they watch rival Celtic continue to dominate Scottish football.
There will be new faces running the show soon enough, and Maiocco reveals that they will be well aware of the need to prove their credentials to an expectant fanbase, who will have their voices heard. However, he warned that not everything the new owners do will necessarily be welcomed with open arms. "They'll be seen as the outsiders," he told the Rangers Journal podcast.
"Why are they doing this? There's going to be a healthy amount of scepticism from Rangers supporters about what the San Francisco 49ers are doing running our team? Therefore, I think the 49ers have to really prove themselves to the fan base. The last thing they want is for people to be upset or sceptical or cynical about what the 49ers are trying to get out of this.
"So I think they'll have an open ear like the fans. They'll want to prove themselves that they're in it for the right reasons. Part of that is the communication and the outreach to the team, the organisation and the community.
"I know these people pretty well and I know how they think. They want their fanbase to be loyal, they want their fanbase to be happy. Not everything they do is going to be met with approval from the supporters, but I think going in, they know that they have to prove themselves to the supporters of Rangers."
Andrew Cavenagh (LEFT) and former Rangers chairman John Gilligan
Fans want to see major surgery done on the current squad. And while Maiocco admits that won't be a daunting task for the 49ers, it will be done as part of a longer-term strategy and money won't just be spent with instant success in mind.
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He added: "Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions when it comes to players and I think it is easier for a new group coming in to look at it with fresh eyes. If there are some players that maybe aren't what they used to be, it might be easier for them to make those difficult decisions because they don't have the history.
"They'll be very aware of public perception. But also they'll realise that what the fanbase might want isn't necessarily what's best for the long term health of the team. So they'll look at it from a very strategic standpoint; cost, upside of the player - whether that player is on the rise or on the downturn. Watching how they work with the 49ers, they're strategic in how they pay players. There's always that balancing act of 'yeah, we can go and get this top player and pay him this, but is it going to push us over the top or negatively impact us for the future?'