RICHARD GOUGH is confident Rangers are well on the road to recovery on and off the park – thanks to the Ibrox board and boss Mark Warburton.

The Light Blues will kick off their second bid for the Ladbrokes Championship title when they face St Mirren at Ibrox on Friday night as they look to put a barren campaign last time out behind them.

The Premiership play-off final defeat to Motherwell was the culmination of a wretched few years for the club as boardroom issues have dominated the agenda and the team have suffered a series of embarrassing results in Scotland’s lower leagues.

But with new directors at the helm and Warburton making an impressive impact in the dugout, nine-in-a-row legend Gough is optimistic about the future.

He said: “Progress is maybe going to be slow, a bit-by-bit approach, but the management team now look like a good fit.

“It is still very early days, of course, and it’s not going to be a quick fix. It’s just a natural progression to slowly get back. The club had the heart ripped out of it for three years.

“But I think we’ve been on the right track back from March. And getting the trust of supporters with 32,000 season tickets, that’s incredible after what has happened here.

“The supporters have given that trust again. There can’t be many places in the country would do that. There is talk about getting 40,000 for St Mirren on Friday, that is incredible to watch a Championship game.

“That is what I’ve said all along that this club is like a family. It is going to be here for another 143 years. It is not a football club; it’s an institution. An institution that was very close to getting damaged beyond repair.

“How it was allowed to happen we don’t know, but it happened. However, now we put that in the past and we move on and hope to get the club back its standing in Scottish football.”

The Ibrox feelgood factor continued on Sunday afternoon as Warburton’s side turned in another eye-catching display and they dispatched Peterhead in the League Cup.

The visit of the Buddies on Friday is next on the agenda for Rangers as they look to get off to a flying start in the Championship.

And Gough hopes the Gers can make the most of their home advantage and backing from the stands this season.

He said: “I do feel that fear factor coming back, but you only get that by winning games at Ibrox by four to five nil.

“Rangers could quite easily have won 10-0 against Peterhead. Their goalkeeper had five outstanding saves and Rangers missed some golden opportunities.

“If you start beating teams by six or seven goals to nil here then that creates a fear factor.”

The Ibrox crowd have bought into the Warburton way in recent weeks as they have seen their side hit nine goals in their cup triumphs over Hibernian and Peterhead.

Right-back James Tavernier has scored twice in his first two appearances for the Light Blues following his move from Wigan Athletic last month.

Former Gers skipper Gough has been impressed with the 23-year-old so far and has tipped him for a bright future in the game.

He said: “Tavernier looks great and I like what Mark said about adding players of value. He’s not going to go out and buy someone for four or five million pounds.

“He’s going to bring in guys who can help the club and bring value to it. From what I’ve seen of Tavernier, he’s better than most of the right-backs I’ve seen in the Premiership.

“Someone will come and take him for three or four million if he keeps playing like that then he’ll not be here in a year.

“So I like to hear Mark say he needs to buy people like that rather than older players.”

*Family Stand season tickets are on sale now priced £312 for adults and £53 for kids and are available from www.rangers.co.uk, 0871 702 1972 or by visiting the Rangers Ticket Centre.