ANY Rangers fan struggling to accept the Ibrox club’s current predicament would do well to cast his or her mind back to the travails of the not-so-distant past.

It may not be easy for some supporters to get excited about the quest to finish second in the top flight having watched their team lift the Scottish title with frightening regularity in years gone by.

They may also struggle to muster much enthusiasm for some of the players who have been brought in on free transfers and development fees having cheered on exotic foreign imports and household names back in the day.

But it is preferable to where Rangers have found themselves in their recent history – floundering in the lower leagues, hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate and being run by individuals with shadowy backgrounds, dubious credentials and questionable intentions.

There was a stark reminder of those bleak days last week when The Herald published information contained in recent financial statements.

They revealed that David Somers, the former chairman, Derek Llambias, the erstwhile chief executive, and Barry Leach, an ex-director, had received payments of £40,000, £46,000 and £35,000 respectively in the year up to June 2015. It is fair to say that no member of that trio is remembered with particular fondness for their sterling service down Govan way.

However, their levels of remuneration were, while startling for a club which was in such a beleaguered state, insignificant in comparison with that paid out to many of those who occupied the boardroom before them.

Indeed, Charles Green, the then chief executive, and Brian Stockbridge, his financial director, agreed to pay themselves bonuses of £360,000 and £200,000 each after Rangers had won the Third Division in 2013.

It was, despite the turmoil which the club found itself in following their financial implosion the previous summer, hardly a shock when Ally’s McCoist’s side came out on top in a league comprised of part-time minnows.

The serious off-field problems which Rangers have encountered since make Green and Stockbridge’s actions all the more scandalous.

But it was hard to share the outrage expressed by some when it emerged that Stewart Robertson, the current managing director, had earned a £179,000 basic salary and received a £53,000 bonus and Andrew Dickson, the finance and administration director, had been paid £120,000 and banked a £26,000 dividend.

How could, many wailed indignantly, directors of the Rangers Football Club Ltd pocket so much when the stricken club had made a £3.3 million loss? There is always a rush to lambast “fat cat culture” whenever an executive’s wages are made public.

But isn’t it far better for Rangers to have experienced, qualified and reputable professionals working in senior positions as they strive to address a raft of complex historical issues? Wouldn’t it be far more costly in the long run to go for a cheaper option? Anyway, isn’t his pay considerably less than many of those who perform the same role at clubs of similar size and stature?

Robertson is a Glasgow University graduate, a chartered accountant to trade and spent a decade on the board at Motherwell, during which time served on the SPL board. He can hardly be bracketed alongside some of the carpet baggers and fly-by-nights who have made their way up the marble staircase at Ibrox before him. Helping to cut losses by half in a year is a fair effort.

AND ANOTHER THING

Nutritionalists and sports scientists across the land must have been weeping into their quinoa last week as Kris Boyd reflected on Paul le Guen’s brief and ill-fated stint in charge of Rangers on the 10th anniversary of his departure.

Boyd revealed that the enigmatic Frenchman’s insistence on his players adhering to a strict diet and fitness regime during his seven month stay in Glasgow had left him feeling weak and lacking in energy.

The Kilmarnock striker, though, told how everything had changed when Walter Smith took over as manager. “You better get back to eating hamburgers,” he was informed. “Cakes also returned,” he recalled.

It is hard to see Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pocchetino or Arsene Wenger advocating such a change in eating habits, but it is rather difficult to quibble with the results which they produced.

Le Guen became only the second Rangers manager after Davie White not to lift a major trophy during his tenure. His successor Smith won three consecutive Scottish titles, three League Cups, one Scottish Cup and reached the UEFA Cup final.

There were obviously other factors involved in the success that Smith enjoyed in his second spell at Ibrox – not least the money which he, unlike Le Guen, was able to spend strengthening his squad – and many would argue that Boyd could have done with eating a few more salads.

But it would certainly seem that a little of what you fancy does you no harm in our inclement climate.