Scottish Premiership side Rangers insists it is "on course for record season ticket sales despite a turbulent campaign at Ibrox," according to the Scotland DAILY RECORD. Club Chair Dave King "vowed to reinvest all season ticket cash in the playing squad" and said that he "can only marvel at the steadfast loyalty of our supporters." Rangers revealed the renewals figure will have "crashed through the 35,000 mark once a backlog has cleared" and believes there is now a "realistic prospect of exceeding the record sales of more than 43,000 achieved for the current campaign." The club's first season back in the top flight has "been anything but smooth." Rangers have European football to "look forward to again next season after securing a third place finish" behind Celtic and Aberdeen. King said, "The team didn't perform to expectation this season but it is important to remember that some targets have been met" (DAILY RECORD, 5/18).
THIRD PARTY FUNDS: The BBC reported Craig Whyte claimed he told David Murray that he would "not be buying Rangers solely from his own funds," a court heard. The High Court in Glasgow was shown an email, sent by Whyte "two months before he took over the club," in which he said that "much of the deal would be paid for from a third party fund." The court also heard that the ticket firm said to have "helped fund" Whyte's Rangers takeover wanted its involvement to be kept secret. Ticketus had concerns it would "embarrass" then Owner David Murray as well as upset supporters. The claims emerged as Ross Bryan -- a fund manager for Ticketus -- "gave evidence for a second day" (BBC, 5/17).
