'A huge f*** up': Ibrox locals react to Rangers playing at Hampden

With no official date yet given for Rangers’ return, Glasgow Times spoke to people in Ibrox to find out what impact the Gers’ absence will have.

READ NEXT: Community around Glasgow's Hampden Stadium react to Rangers move

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Ian Morgan, 58, a Rangers fan who lives near the stadium, is concerned about the effect on local businesses.

“It’s shocking Rangers having to play at Hampden, it’s absolutely shocking,” he said. “And it seems like bad management on Rangers’ behalf. A huge management f*** up - that’s what it sounds like to me.

“They were going to play in Edinburgh at the rugby stadium - that was ludicrous. Why would you go all the way up there?

“So they’re playing at Hampden instead, which is better than Edinburgh. But all the businesses in the area will lose money unfortunately. Match days are a big driver of business around here.”

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Steven Eddie, 40, owner of Ibrox takeaway Good Times Roll, described the situation as a “mess,” and says he will lose a lot of money in Rangers’ absence.

“It will be a massive issue for us,” he said. “We’ll lose hundreds upon hundreds because of it, during a time when we really need the business. We rely heavily on footfall from Ibrox, so it will be a massive issue for us.

“How long it’ll take is completely out of our control. All we can do is hope that they’re back soon.

“I’ve been reading about it online, and it seems like an absolute mess. I think somebody’s head will have to roll.”

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Ali Khan, 36, works in an Ibrox convenience shop which he says relies on trade from football crowds.

“It will have a big impact on our business,” Ali said. “It’s quite a big deal for us.

“When there’s a game on, we’re really busy. Over the summer, we’re waiting for the season to start up again. Our business depends on the football - and it's the same for lots of shops around here.

“There’s not much we can do about it, we just have to hope they get the work done quickly. We’ve heard it’s supposed to be finished in September, but to be honest I think it will take longer.”

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Karen Grubb, 36, who works in the Kensington bar on Paisley Road West, says the lack of home games will significantly reduce trade for local pubs. She also believes the work may continue for some time yet.

“It’s definitely going to have an impact on us,” Karen said, “not having any home fans. It’s a big part of our business.

“But there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it.

“I’m not very hopeful that they’ll get it done on time. We’ll just need to wait and see. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later, but these things never normally seem to run to schedule.”

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Barry McNamee, 50, a Rangers fan and Cessnock resident, says that the club are to blame for the stadium being out of action.

“I’m not going to Hampden to watch,” he said. “Hampden is a concert venue, an athletics venue - it’s not a football venue.

“Ibrox isn’t a wealthy area. If you get 50,000 people coming here on a matchday, it brings a lot to the local economy.

“It’s Rangers’ fault. If you’re getting materials from halfway across the world, you should know that there’s probably going to be delays, and plan accordingly. If you think it’s going to take three months, plan for six.

“Why didn’t they just shut down one of the stands and use the other three on match days? Plenty of other clubs have done that.”

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Jagoda Uroda, 31, works in the area, and says that she sometimes feels unsafe amongst the large football crowds.

“For me, Rangers not playing here doesn’t really matter,” she said. “I’m a woman, so I don’t care about football.

“When there’s a game on, there’s so much traffic and so many fans. People are drinking. Sometimes I don’t feel that safe.

“I understand that there’s lot of football fans in the UK, which is fine. But when there’s a game on, I have to remind myself not to wear anything green!”

Ibrox will not be ready for the start of the new season (Image: Newsquest) Upgrades are being made to the Copland Road stand (Image: Newsquest) The work is ongoing (Image: Newsquest)