FINANCIALLY, according to the man who should know, Rangers have never been healthier.

Chairman David Murray, who is now in his tenth year in charge of the Ibrox club, has no doubts about the stability, prospects and expansion of the company he took over in November 1988. His half-time verdict on season 1997-98 includes a satisfaction, if not a complacency, about the vibrancy of the financial position and its capabilities for further improvement.

He said: ''I did not want to take the route other clubs have done by going public. I don't believe it is in the best interests of football clubs.

''The only time to do it is in the Manchester United situation, when you are making money for the City. That is acceptable.

''At smaller clubs, people do it for personal gain. It has happened at a few places in the south, and I don't see any sign of a new stadium. I think it is wrong.

''You can also go to the well so many times and, if it doesn't work, you can hardly go again.''

Murray is equally bullish about events on the park. Although he readily concedes that the European exits an an early stage, in the Champions' Cup to Gothenburg and in the UEFA Cup to Strasbourg, were very disappointing.

''With the things we are going to be putting in place, we will enhance our opportunities of doing well in Europe,'' he said. ''With a new coach arriving, a new training ground and one or two other initiatives we will announce, I am sure we will be in a stronger position.''

The speculation surrounding the name of the coach, which has included everybody bar Lennox Lewis, is perhaps not so surprising, but the chairman has been taken aback by at least one aspect of the roll call. ''What has amazed me is the number and level of candidates who have put themselves forward,'' said Murray.

''Rangers must have a manager with a proven track record. We cannot bring in a 'maybe,' because that is unacceptable. We have to bring in someone who has experience at a European and reasonable club level.

''We have everything else in place, and that includes a not bad squad of players, despite what people think.''

The timetable for the new man is progressing as per programme. ''We still expect to appoint him around the end of January.''

Setting aside the letdown on European fields, Murray is reasonably pleased with the way the game plan has gone domestically. ''When you consider we have not been firing on all cylinders, I think we have done well,'' he suggested.

''We have not used our resources. I said a couple of weeks ago that, as long as we were level coming to the turn of the year, I would be reasonably happy.

''We bought players to do a specific job and, for one reason or another, they have not been able to do that.''

However, he thought that the ''unsung heroes'' were players like Rino Gattuso, who has surpassed expectations by playing so many games aged 19, Alex Cleland and Gordon Durie.

The chairman, like every other Rangers man, is eager to see the missing men in action, players like Seb Rozental and Lorenzo Amoruso. He also needs no convincing that the players bought last summer were the correct men for the job.

''I look at the European Football Year Book and I see: Stensaas - played nearly all the games in the Champions' League for Rosenborg; Amoruso - captain of Fiorentina, semi-final of the UEFA and European Cup-winners' Cup; Thern - played all those games for Roma, captain of Sweden; Porrini - two European Cup finals, capped a couple of times for Italy. Unless we have lost something in translation, they look fine to me.''

The prospect of a new Scottish Premiership means a great deal to Murray, too, because he has long held the view that the game in this country needs revitalising, with the major clubs setting out their own business plan.

Overall, the chairman's half-term report would probably be something like eight out of 10. ''I am confident that everything is OK and look forward to the second half,'' he added.