Former Rangers Chairman Sir David Murray chats with Alan Pattullo

The Scotsman

Former Rangers Chairman Sir David Murray chat with Alan Pattullo

Transcript

00:00Hello, I'm Alan Patullo, football writer for The Scotsman, here with Sir David Murray,

00:06former chairman of Rangers, as I'm sure you're all aware, who has just published his autobiography,

00:13Metal, as you can see here, an absolutely absorbing book. It covers Scottish football,

00:20obviously, it covers Rangers, and it covers David's business life, and also goes into some

00:27unflinching detail about the accident in March 1976, a car accident where he lost his leg,

00:36so it's a fantastic read. Top ten on the Sunday Times chart this weekend, so it's being well bought,

00:48and well commented on. David, how has the process been, and have you digested

00:57the reaction to the book so far? It's been out for a couple of weeks now.

01:00It's taken three or four years to do, to put it all together, but I'm very pleased with the results.

01:06You've got a few non-Rangers fans who are quite critical, but that's fine. But I'm very pleased,

01:12the book being the top ten, it's been very well received, a lot of good comments from the business

01:16community, etc., etc., so to answer your question, it's gone down pretty well.

01:20Yeah, you mentioned some non-Rangers fans that hasn't gone down so well with, perhaps some

01:25Rangers fans as well. It's a tough ask, perhaps, to put a book out there that gets everyone on side.

01:33Obviously, I think some Rangers fans have reacted, well, as you perhaps could have expected,

01:38you know, they find some of what you said unconvincing regarding the sale of Rangers.

01:42Yeah, but these are the same fans who criticise me winning doubles and trebles.

01:46I've gone to Rangers AGM and been questioned winning a treble. The people who make a living

01:51by being critics, and that's what they do, and they go on the keyboard warriors and get people

01:56to follow them. I know the truth, the truth is in the book, and if people don't want to believe the

02:01truth, that's up to them. Has some of the criticism stung you, or did you expect it?

02:05It doesn't bother me. You've kind of been in the game.

02:07It doesn't. In fact, it makes me stronger.

02:08Yeah, yeah, yeah. In terms of Rangers, you talk about David Junior's son still being a firm

02:18fan of the club. Obviously, you're still a fan. Can you see yourself going back to Ibrox again,

02:23and what do you feel your legacy is like there now?

02:28Well, you could take any part of my tenure at the club and criticise it, but I think over the

02:32piece, other than the end, which was really unfortunate, we did win 35 trophies. So an average

02:37of 1.6 trophies a year. I mean, if you look, you know, the last 10 years, I think they've got the

02:42club back in an even keel, and then won, and then it's not done too well again. But I think,

02:49you know, you could have mixed views, but nobody was complaining when we're winning.

02:52Yeah. You apologised in the book, very, obviously, to the Rangers fans regarding the Craig White sale. I

03:03suppose there's only so many times you can do that, can't you? And it's explained.

03:06As I explained a couple of times, there's the factors that the HMRC decided to polarise Rangers,

03:12as an example. And the tax claim at that time was £75 million, and Craig White made it greater.

03:19But when it came down, it's not been highlighted, that eventually HMRC accused us of running an

03:24illegal scheme. They then said it wasn't an illegal scheme, and it ended up at £33 million. We could have

03:30handled £33 million. Then all the other things. I had a health issue, and the Bank of Scotland went

03:34bust. And if people don't accept, and there was a world global meltdown financially, I don't think

03:41people realise how difficult it was. But fortunately, the club survived. It was a difficult time.

03:47And I apologise for what I did, but there were factors that were totally out with my control.

03:52Rangers have got a big Champions League game next week against Panath and ICOS.

03:57You know, where are you now in terms of Rangers? Will you sit down and watch that game at home?

04:02Oh yes, yes. Well, the family and my grandchildren watch it. I'm surprised they got the home game

04:08first. I'd have thought they'd have been seeded away. I'm concerned with this game. It's very hard

04:13to bid players. I can remember we bought all these great players, and we're losing 3-0 to Shelburne

04:18at one time. It can happen if you're not prepared. I think Russell Martin's at a huge disadvantage

04:24going into this match, but I hope they're successful.

04:26Have the new owners been in touch with you at all? I know I was at the EGM last couple of weeks ago,

04:31and they said they'd be in touch with some of those previously involved at the club.

04:35I spoke to the new chief executive, but I haven't spoken to the new owners. They've got a tough task,

04:41and the fans are going to have to be patient. This isn't a three-month project. I've said this

04:45from repeating myself. It's a three- to five-year project. They're going to build from the bottom up.

04:50And I said at the time too, the first three signings and the first three sales will tell

04:56people the direction of travel. So let's wait and see. Thanks for your time today.

05:01And yeah, interesting. The book is certainly one I can recommend.

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