Seething Stewart Robertson warned Rangers haven’t given up the fight against SPFL chiefs and insists the decision to abandon last season has left “a sour taste in the mouth.”
And the Light Blues managing director urged other clubs to show “courage of their convictions” in a bid to force change at the top of the league body.
The Ibrox club went to war with the Hampden hierarchy during a summer of acrimony and called for the suspension of chief executive Neil Doncaster and legal adviser Rod McKenzie over the handling of the vote that saw Celtic crowned champions.
And, almost eight months on from that bitter feud, Rangers managing director Robertson insists the club still aren’t backing down in their bid for governance changes.
Celtic held a 13-point lead over Rangers, who had a game in hand, when the coronavirus outbreak halted the Scottish Premiership campaign on the eve of the third Old Firm derby of the season at Ibrox.
And a month later the Hoops were awarded the title - their ninth in a row - but the season-ending members vote was shrouded in controversy after Dundee dramatically changed from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’ vote which provided the majority the SPFL needed to pass the motion.
Gers accused the SPFL of bullying and foul play but failed to garner enough support for an independent investigation and the suspension of Doncaster.
The Light Blues have turned things around on the park and they now boast a 13-point lead over rivals Celtic and could increase that to 16 points with a win against Motherwell on Sunday.
However, speaking at the virtual AGM managing director Robertson said the club is still on a crusade for change at the top of the SPFL. He said: “We were all disappointed in the way the 2019/20 season was curtailed early, and the fashion in which that happened left a really sour taste in the mouth to be honest.
“It has been well-publicised what our views on that were. We, as a club, were keen to try and get the games played. We would much rather have got the games played to a conclusion as they did in England and in most other European countries.
“However, that path was never really made available to us. I felt some clubs accepted that path too quickly and if we had tried a bit harder, maybe we could have got there.
“Eventually, there came a point where it was obvious we weren’t going to get there. However, that doesn’t detract from, and I believe, and the club believes, that the governance of the game in Scotland has to be better than we are getting at the moment and it has to be better than it was in the summer.
“It could be significantly better the way the game can be run. We all want to be displaying the best product we possibly can and showing Scottish football - our national game in its best light.
“I don’t think we do that just now and there are a lot of improvements which can be made on that side of it. But it needs to start with the way the game is governed, and the way the authorities govern the game.
“We were very vocal about it in the summer and we feel exactly the same way about it now as we did then, and we are still chipping away at it.
“What I feel, and we hear from many other clubs who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the way things are done, is they need to believe in the courage of their convictions and come out and support and be a bit more vocal if they really want to see change.
“Otherwise, there is going to be inertia, there is going to be mediocrity and we are just going to get the same over and over. It is key for us we try and improve that governance.”
