Interviewer: You must be delighted to get Leanne in and get it done?

Speaker: Delighted. She’s a fantastic addition to the club, someone that has been going about her business with a real high degree of quality for a number of years. I didn’t know Leanne before we got into this process, other than to speak to. We’ve come across each other from my time as head of women’s football at the Scottish FA. Getting her into the process and hearing more about her philosophy, her methodology, and her value set, everything was just really aligned with who we wanted to be. It took a little bit longer than would have been ideal, but when you come across somebody that you’re really connected to and you feel that will have a good runway for success, you go that extra mile. We’re excited to have her in and get her started.

Interviewer: Was there any apprehension that Leanne hasn’t managed on her own before?

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Speaker: No, there was none for a number of reasons. The most obvious one is Jo was in the same position coming up from Birmingham. Leanne has been coaching for over 10 years. You don’t get your pro license without being really good at what you’re doing. Things I didn’t know about Leanne: she was coaching when she was at Notts County, Tanya Oxtoby was a head coach. Finding those little elements out put any question with regards to not being a head coach to rest. We’ve had a head coach come in previously that’s been successful that hasn’t been a head coach before. There’s no reason why that can’t work again. She knows the Scottish game, the international game, she’s been a pro down south, and she’s got her pro license. There were so many things that it’s not going to be a factor.

Interviewer: In a wider sense, does this seem like a ripe opportunity for the women’s team to go and dominate the landscape of women’s football, especially with plans to open Ibrox more often? Does Leanne feel like the right person to take you to another level?

Speaker: It’s not about changes for change’s sake, it’s about what the next chapter in the Rangers Women’s Football Club story is going to be. It’s about evolving based on the platform that we’ve got. The women’s game is in the same spot in terms of ‘what’s the next step?’. So whether it’s new players coming in, we’re not necessarily looking to replace players or Jo; we’re looking to have somebody coming in that would take us forward into the next chapter of what we’re looking to achieve.

Interviewer: The chairman spoke about the importance of the women’s setup and the investment that will come with it. What discussions have you had with him or the executive about taking things to the next level and being successful not just in Scotland, but in Europe?

Speaker: They’ve been really positive. I was involved in meeting the ownership group prior to them being confirmed, which I thought said a lot about their intentions. Their priorities absolutely need to be where they are right now, with the revenue-generating section of the club, with the majority of supporters. That’s where the business is based. The support they’ve given us to this point has been, ‘Are your plans in place? What do you want to achieve? Is there a road map for doing that? How do we support that?’ as opposed to ‘Here is where you’re going to go.’ Ibrox was something they came to us about to ask how it looks. We would love to be at Ibrox and have so many more people coming to our games, and getting back to Glasgow was huge. The support they’ve given us has been based around ‘Where do you want to take it?’. That’s been really encouraging and gives you enthusiasm to propose ideas, knowing they won’t be dismissed.

Interviewer: How big a challenge is it to bring more people in to watch women’s football, not just at Rangers but in a wider sense? There seems to have been some apathy last season, with no domestic or international game breaking 10,000. What is the challenge for clubs to make this economically viable?

Speaker: The attendance is a bit of a question mark. Finding that sweet spot where there’s an excitement about the women’s game throughout the community to increase attendance is a question a lot of clubs are asking. The SWPL commissioned a fan research paper which was interesting. I was head of women’s football at the Scottish FA when we had 18,500 at the Jamaica game. When you look back at how that happened, clearly you’re qualifying for your first World Cup, so there’s a unique point in there. But there have been lots of unique points through the club game, like its professionalization, and we hope to make Ibrox a unique place that will provide a strong platform. We need to make sure we continue to make the game accessible, and we need to understand our audience better. If it’s a family-based attendance, how are we reaching out to them? Is it cost-effective? Is there childcare? Face painting? Good food at the right price? I do think it’s connected to the national team. I believe that the clubs and the SWPL absolutely need a successful Scotland national team. We’ve seen from down south the success of the national team and what that’s brought to the domestic game. We’ve seen it in the US. From a strategic perspective, whether it’s attendance or performance, the club needs to recognize, and is recognizing, that a role in Scotland is a key thing we do. I don’t necessarily have the answer as to how that knot’s going to get cracked, but I do think over the longer term, having a successful national team and a successful league will increase attendances and continue to create excitement.

Interviewer: Regarding more games at Ibrox, the notice time has often been short. Have you been able to speak with ground and managerial staff to plan for big games and establish fixture regularity so fans can plan ahead?

Speaker: There are a couple of working groups we’ve had in place since the end of the season, prior to the Hibs game. David Roxburgh, the head groundsman, has been very easy to work with and fully supportive. It’s been an education for many people—commercial, finance, operations—as to what goes into delivering an event at Ibrox. We did that four times last year. Moving forward, there are a ton of moving pieces, and we’ll know a lot more after we know the certainty of the men’s European campaign. But we’re now in a place where we have a working model for all of the games, whether it’s for a club with a lower fan base or a significant fan base that could realize 5,000-7,000 at the game. So we have something going.

Interviewer: In terms of developing the crowd, it has grown from just families and friends to a very family-oriented atmosphere. While that’s a strength, you need to go beyond that. In making it an event, will you concentrate on the bigger games against City and Celtic, or also focus on growing the crowd for more regular games?

Speaker: You need to look after your core supporters—those who have been with the women’s team from the beginning and continue to grow an attachment to players like Kirsty Howat, who was a teacher before going fully professional. We need to maintain those connections and find a way of attracting more of those similar types of people. We could never look at losing the post-match approachability that the players have. They’ve led that; it hasn’t been a directive from the club. They recognize it when they’re talking to young boys and girls, like young Harry from our season ticket launch who is a genuine supporter with the megaphone at every game. We can’t lose that, but adding layers to it is the knot we’re trying to crack. Coming back to Glasgow where the club is based is a huge piece. We know this is where the core of our support is, so if we can be back here, then great. If it’s not the answer, it’s not the answer. To be clear, playing in a 50,000-seater stadium with 2,000 people can turn people off; you can’t ignore that. We want to look after the core support that doesn’t necessarily want to travel outside Glasgow, and then work with the commercial and comms departments to get the messaging out to those who are closer.

Interviewer: There have been talks about a working group looking at a potential ground-share between Rangers, Celtic, and Glasgow City at a Glasgow-based facility to create a better atmosphere than a near-empty Ibrox. Is that something you would actively welcome?

Speaker: I would absolutely welcome the discussion. There’s not a working group, to be clear, but there was conversation as to how we could increase the attendance and the audience. Going to Scotland national team games and seeing 4,000 or 6,000 is good, but it can feel like there’s a lack of an environment. I do think the women’s game has an opportunity to do things differently, and we should be doing things differently. I think there’s a way to create value to a ticket rather than expecting free tickets just to fill a stadium; that’s critical. Ibrox allows us the opportunity to reach out to as many people as we can. It will be great for us, and we have a way of condensing the attendance to ensure there is an environment in certain areas of the stadium. It would be really interesting to see how that conversation steps forward because I think it would be good for the women’s game as a whole, and that’s what I mean in terms of us making sure we’re attached to that conversation.