Monday 22 September 2014 17:17, UK
Ian Black admits it is often difficult for players to put off-field matters out of their minds but feels confident Rangers fans will inspire the team on the pitch as the Ibrox club looks set to face more financial worries in the coming months.
The club's board was forced to call an emergency share issue earlier this month as they sought to plug a £4million black-hole in their budget.
They fell £900,000 short of their target and will now be forced to turn to investors again before the year is out.
Chief executive Graham Wallace met with manager Ally McCoist and the squad on Friday to reassure them that the club was 'not in imminent danger'.
However, supporters remain angry with around 15,000 of them refusing to renew their season tickets in protest at the way the club is being run.
Black was at Hearts when Vladimir Romanov was the owner at Tynecastle and the players were not paid for a number of weeks.
During this period the midfielder was forced to take a part-time job as a painter and decorator but Black believes the Ibrox faithful will continue to help the players on the pitch.
He said: "These off-field matters can be distracting if it goes too far and gets to the situation when you don't get paid. That's when it certainly affects you.
"But it's not going to get to that stage. It's too big a club. The fans have helped out and stood by us through thick and thin. They won't let us go into that situation.
"The board have told us as it stands it is going to be fine. We can't affect that so I don't want to pay any attention to things that will interfere with my performances."
As for last week’s meeting, McCoist said: "Graham met with everybody. We had a staff meeting at Ibrox, which we have been known to have in the past, and it involved the staff from the stadium, the players and a lot of the staff from Murray Park.
"It was fine. Graham addressed the staff, as did I for five or 10 minutes. That's all there was to it. There was nothing at all said that would scare anybody. Quite the opposite.
"We just wanted to keep everybody informed of what the plans and hopes are for the future and I would safely say it was very beneficial.
"It wasn't so much that people wanted reassurance. They just wanted information and a chat about what direction the club was going.”
Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange announced that the stake held by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley had fallen from 4.56% to 3.68%.
The Newcastle United owner decided against taking part in the open offer – which raised £3.13million after 15.6 million new shares were sold – meaning his holding was diluted. He does, however, retain three million shares.
