THE change he demanded in the boardroom only came about after three long years of sacrifice and hurt.

The changes required on the pitch cannot wait a moment longer.

John Brown returned to Ibrox on Tuesday night alongside the likes of John Greig and Walter Smith to mark the beginning of a new era following the removal of a board he had campaigned hard to expose and topple.

As he walked back through the front door, he raised his clenched fist high to the crowds on Edmiston Drive as a sign of victory. While watching the Rangers team struggle to a 1-1 draw with Queen of the South a little later in the evening, chances are it was used to grip the armrest of his VIP seat in the directors' box in anger and frustration over what played out in front of him.

The 53-year-old is in no doubt. Stuart McCall, his team-mate from the days when the club were winning nine consecutive top division titles, faces one heck of a task. Rangers are involved in a battle just to make the play-offs far less secure promotion back to the SPFL Premiership.

Brown, however, does not regard the current campaign as a lost cause. He finds the current squad of players infuriating to watch, but sees enough experience within its midst to suggest a new manager capable of commanding respect can wring out considerably more in the way of energy and application.

What's more, he knows from personal experience what is required when being parachuted into crisis situations.

Brown was appointed as interim manager of Dundee in February 2013 with the club 15 points adrift at the bottom of the SPL. He lost only one of his first nine games in the league to offer some hope of survival before that most unlikely revival finally ran out of steam.

"Stuart knows the Scottish scene and the club certainly needed to act quickly to get themselves promoted," said Brown.

"What is required at Rangers is to get the maximum out of a squad that has underperformed this season. If it is to be Stuart, it will be good to have someone who can come in short-term and get a reaction.

"I certainly believe you can get more out of that squad. There is enough experience within it and, sad as it is to say, they might just need to hear a different voice.

"Teams down south such as West Brom and Crystal Palace changed managers and got an immediate boost from it. There is nothing to say that it cannot be turned round.

"The team is being constantly criticised and their self-belief is disappearing. You have got to go in and pick them up because they need to make the play-offs.

"There are no guarantees because Rangers don't have a great record this season and it could slip them by. Getting to those play-offs is the minimum requirement, but making the change now at least provides an opportunity to turn it around.

"They just seem so disjointed at the moment. There doesn't seem to be a leader on the park. I looked at the back four against Queen of the South and they were all over the place.

"They were sitting too deep in midfield and not pressing. Queen of the South looked comfortable when they had the ball and Rangers couldn't even close the game out when they were 1-0 up late on.

"Lee Wallace came off, Bilel Mohsni went on and he basically gave the goal away. He should just be defending, clearing his lines and seeing the game out. It would have given everyone a boost, but it just comes down to a basic lack of discipline and organisation.

"The players have to take responsibility."

Brown, for all that, sees an improvement in fortunes on the playing side as the last part of a jigsaw that is slowly coming together. He believes the club has been returned to the hands of people with its best interests at heart after meeting with Dave King, Paul Murray, John Gilligan and other prominent investors on Tuesday.

While the football did not live up to expectations, he clearly sensed a fresh optimism around the club on his return.

"The fans gave me a great reception as I was going in," he said. "When I stood on the front step, they let out a great roar and I just went back to three years ago when I was hollering to the crowd out there about what was going to happen.

"There was a lot of emotion there. There has been a lot of hurt over the past three years. People questioned my loyalty to the club and was never in doubt.

"It has taken a while for everyone to realise that the people running Rangers were not interested in the football club one bit and only wanted to take as much money out of it as they could.

"That clenched fist was just about saying: 'We have got them out and here's to a future which I want to enjoy, watching a team that I supported and played for.'

"Lots of people lost their jobs and I walked out of a job three years ago because of this. I gave up a job to tell the supporters what was going to happen and, as I say, it is just a shame we were three years and £70m or £80m down the line before change came."

King has vowed to stage a full investigation into what has gone on behind the scenes at the club and Brown makes no secret of hoping for prison sentences with several former directors along with employees of Duff and Phelps, the accountancy firm called in after the business went into administration, already facing charges.

"Things are going on with the authorities right now and people are going to be accountable for this," said Brown. "I hope they do hard time for it.

"One thing for sure is that Rangers fans will never forgive the people who have done this to their club. Those are the people who were in that boardroom over recent years."

Brown is also pleased to see supporters actively involved in the running of Rangers in the wake of recent changes with Chris Graham of the Supporters' Trust now a plc director and James Blair of the Rangers First community ownership group installed as company secretary.

"It will take time, but I think the club is in good hands and I am pleased that they want to invite the fans to participate actively," he said. That is a big thing. When they are on board, you have a strong unit.

"The board have basically said to me that there is a ticket there whenever I want it because of what we have been through. That means a lot to me as well."