Charles Green hopes to concentrate on football after SFL decision

Charles Green, chief executive of Rangers, has spoken in the aftermath of his club being voted into Division Three by a meeting of SFL chairmen.

Rangers were voted into the SFL system by a majority of 29 to 1, and then voted into the third tier of the SFL setup with a 25 to 5.

The Rangers chairman accepts the decision taken by the SFL clubs, and now insists that he would like the focus to shift back to playing football.

A statement on the Rangers website read: "We are grateful to be accepted as members of the SFL and accept their decision to vote us into Division 3.

"It is a matter of regret for all of us involved with Rangers that the issues surrounding the club resulted in the SFL and its members being placed in a very difficult position not of their own making.

"From the outset we made clear we would play where we were told and we just want to get back to playing football."

While Green wants to move forward following the decision, he also believes that SFL vote was taken after each club chairman listened to the concerns of their own supporters.

"The decision maintains the sporting integrity that clubs and fans across Scotland have been calling for, but it also impacts massively on Scottish football as a whole and only time will tell what the consequences will be.

"Rangers has been handed the ultimate punishment of starting again from the bottom of the leagues but there is an overwhelming feeling among fans and within the club of 'wiping the slate clean' as a club free of sanctions.

"The people who brought shame on this great club are no longer part of it and everyone at Rangers is focused on rebuilding the club on top of a solid financial foundation."

Green now hopes to draw a line under recent events and start preparing his team for the new season, which will start at Peterhead on August 11.

He continued: "We wish to play a constructive part in Division 3 and encourage our fans to support the other clubs within the league by attending matches and delivering to them the benefits of having Rangers within their league.

"We are a football club and we just want to get back to playing football. Now is the time to move on and start afresh."

A previous statement on the Rangers website had indicated that the club were still hopeful of the creation of an SPL2, which the club could be placed.

It read: "It is now understood that on the back of a briefing SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster and SFA counterpart Stewart Regan gave to clubs last week that the SPL will introduce a plan for SPL 2 - which would include Rangers - and invite existing Division One members to join."

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