Lost revenue compounds the pressure on Pedro...

THE financial investment needed to prepare for Europa League football was a primary topic when Dave King and Pedro Caixinha first spoke face-to-face. At that meeting in March, the Ibrox chairman explained why the club had paid compensation — thought to be around £300,000 — to buy their new manager out of the final few months of his contract with Qatari club Al-Gharafa. ‘Pedro asked me the question the very first time I met him,’ King later revealed. ‘He said: “Dave, why did you pay compensation to get me in when you could have waited until the end of May and got me for free?”. ‘I said: “The reason we did that is that we will be in Europe and we need you to come in and assess the quality of the squad in the way you want to play”.’ Caixinha made his assessment, which was then forcefully backed by the Ibrox board. Educated estimates suggest around £7million was spent to revamp the squad, with Graham Dorrans about to be confirmed as the club’s ninth summer arrival. Some return was clearly expected on the continental stage. Speaking recently, King claimed the first two qualifying rounds should be ‘manageable’ for a club of Rangers’ resources. Thereafter, it would depend on the luck of the draw. That was not an unreasonable assessment. As it was, Caixinha delivered a defeat of historically embarrassing proportions against a team that finished 21 points off the pace in Luxembourg last season. While the cost to his reputation as a manager was immense, the financial impact of his team’s failure was also far from negligible. UEFA have yet to confirm this season’s Europa League financial distribution but last year’s figures offer a guide to the money lost. Suffering a first qualifying round exit saw clubs receive just €215,000. That amount rose by €10,000 for each of the three subsequent rounds until the group stage, where a €2.6million bonus was on offer. Each victory in a group stage match was rewarded by €350,000. More significant is the loss of gate receipts. Tickets for the home leg against Progres were priced at £15 for an adult, with reduced entry for concessions and children. Despite the competitive rate, a 48,681 sell-out would have banked in excess of £500,000. Pricing could have risen for the scheduled second-round meeting with Cypriots AEL Limassol and each subsequent qualifier. Taking in advertising, hospitality, and the rest, the disappearing money would enter seven figures. Costs of staging games have to be deducted, but the income could have covered a transfer fee for a target such as Jamie Walker. Will the exit from Europe impact on any further signing plans? Caixinha could have no complaints if that was the case. Questions from previous summers about investment no longer apply. A new retail deal with Sports Direct has solved the biggest off-field issue facing Rangers. Boardroom stability and investment had actually placed Caixinha in the strongest position of any recent Ibrox manager. That advantage was woefully spurned in Luxembourg, leaving no more room for excuses.