RANGERS have announced they have borrowed £6.5million over the past month, the bulk of it to pay off Sports Direct.
Rangers recently revealed they had paid off the £5million loan from the sportswear firm of Ibrox shareholder Mike Ashley, who has launched several legal actions against the board in recent times.
More money has been made available for working capital after the club revealed in their annual accounts that up to £2.5million was needed to see them through the season. The money has come from added loans from both chairman Dave King and the so-called Three Bears, who are directors of the club, as well as other supporters.
In a statement, Rangers said: "Rangers International Football Club PLC (RIFC) is pleased to announce new loan facilities totalling £6.5m have been made available to the company over the past month.
"The facilities have been provided by existing lenders New Oasis Asset Limited (Dave King), Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor and by three new lenders, RIFC Director John Bennett and two additional Hong Kong based supporters, Barry Scott and Andy Ross.
"RIFC's board is delighted to welcome the new lenders who, as long-standing supporters of the club, fit exactly into the profile of investors that RIFC has encouraged during this ongoing rebuilding phase. The new funding has all been provided on the same basis as other recent loans to RIFC. The loans to RIFC were primarily utilised to fund repayment of the Sports Direct facility with the balance going towards the Group's working capital requirements."
Martyn Waghorn, meanwhile, insists Rangers will not be brought back down to earth with a bump after Monday's victory over Hibernian. The Light Blues are on a high after reestablishing themselves as the frontrunners in the Ladbrokes Championship title race with a 4-2 win over their Easter Road rivals.
The Gers were cheered on to victory by a sell-out Ibrox crowd and Waghorn says he was blown away by the experience. However, the striker and his colleagues will now aim to build on that victory at the less-imposing surroundings of Dumbarton's Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.
Waghorn netted twice the last time he visited the 2,000-capacity venue and believes his side will have no problem adjusting to the smaller crowd.
The former Wigan frontman said: "Monday was amazing. I've never played in front of anything like that. I remember my first game at home against St Mirren and that was something else.
"But the Hibs match was on a different level. The fans were fantastic. If seeing that doesn't motivate you to get the club back to the top division and to reach cup finals then you are in the wrong game. Ibrox is some place when it gets going and to have success and win things would be amazing.
"I've played at Dumbarton before and got a couple of goals, so I know what I'm in for. It will be another difficult fixture with difficult conditions. But after Monday's win, it's given everybody a boost going into the new year and we're looking forward to it.
"There's no danger of us suffering a hangover from Monday's win. We're Rangers. We've got to deal with it. We're all professionals and we have to build on the Hibs win."
