The three main Rangers supporters groups have criticised the Ibrox board's re-appointment of a PR agency to lobby against a group of disgruntled shareholders, writes Neil Faskin.

The club confirmed yesterday Media House has been appointed on a 12-month contract by chief executive Craig Mather. The company previously acted for Rangers under Sir David Murray, Craig Whyte and Charles Green, but their contract was not renewed last summer.

"The three organisations are saddened to hear of the return of Media House to Ibrox," said a statement by the Rangers Supporters Trust, the Assembly and the Association, "particularly considering their failure to defend the club and the fans during their previous tenure, despite being hired for that purpose.

"Should the directors feel the need to employ an outside agency, over the head of the Director of Communications, to defend their personal positions in the current debate over the future of the club, they should do so at their own expense."

The move comes after the board claimed they had saved money by persuading shareholders who requisitioned a General Meeting to oust three directors and replace them with two others, to allow their resolutions to be voted on at the Annual General Meeting instead.

The shareholders are led by businessman Jim McColl, who Media House chairman Jack Irvine mentioned directly in a statement.

He said: "I have known Jim, Frank [Blin] and Paul [Murray] for many years and have a huge respect for their abilities in their individual fields. Unfortunately, they have now stepped out of their comfort zones and are going to find that the everyday rules of business do not apply in the world of football. The media scrutiny they now face is like nothing they will ever have known in their professional lives."