THE formation of Club 1872 is a really positive step for the supporters and for Rangers.

It will undoubtedly help the club in terms of the money that is raised to fund projects and it will give the fans a real say in how decisions are made at Ibrox.

But it will also give supporters a voice and that is as important as ever in the aftermath of events at Hampden on Saturday.

All the supporters are as one and they will make themselves heard as one. They will defend the club and they will defend the fans.

There will be times where Rangers supporters are in the wrong, of course there will. No support, of any club, is perfect and we are all aware of that.

But when things are thrown at us then it is only right that they back their side and back their fellow fans. You can’t blame them at all for that.

In their statement on Thursday night, Club 1872 claimed that Rangers and the fans are ‘fair game by an unpleasant and active minority who attach themselves to several Scottish football clubs’.

It has not just been the last four years, but it has been prominent in the last four years when we have been down at our lowest. It is the easiest thing in the world to kick people when they are down.

There is no doubt in my mind that that has happened to Rangers. Whether people like me saying that or not, that is a fact.

Rangers are a bit like Manchester United down south. Nobody likes United because they are the big club, they are the successful club.

Everyone hates Man United and I don’t think there is any doubt that Rangers are filling that mantle up here just now. It is easy for people to have a go at Rangers Football Club.

How the events at Hampden can be turned around on the Rangers fans, I don’t know. If thousands of Hibs supporters don’t come on the pitch, there is no trouble.

You can’t start throwing blame at everyone else. You have to look at what the Hibs fans did.

They came on the park and caused mayhem. When you cross the halfway line, you are in opposition territory and you are goading.

They were tearing up the turf, they broke the goals and it was just malicious damage. That is not fans that are happy, that is vandalism.

At the launch of Club 1872 this week, Managing Director Stewart Robertson was asked a lot of questions about the Hampden riot, amongst other things, and he answered them honestly.

Nobody wants to see fans being goaded or attacked. There were Rangers fans on the park and they shouldn’t have been, and Stewart said Rangers will take action if appropriate.

But you can’t shift the focus as to where the blame for this lies. It is down to one club and one club only.

We have had stories coming out about the Rangers fans in the aftermath but the Police, the SFA and Hibernian have to hold their hands up and say they were in the wrong.

Club 1872 were quite right to come out with their statement. That is what they are there for. It will be good for Rangers and the fan base.

If, in the future, Rangers fans are found to have behaved inappropriately at any stage then they will, I am sure, say something about that as well. They have got to be honest and they will be.

Stewart didn’t say anything that I am sure plenty of people will disagree with. What would you rather have, thousands of people fighting on the park or people singing songs? We don’t want to hear any sectarian singing in Scotland and we don’t want people battling it out on the park.

There are no excuses here. The songs were song. But I would rather hear songs than see thousands of people fighting.

I don’t think anyone would differ. Of course, you don’t want to see any of it and we want everyone that goes to football matches to behave in an appropriate manner.

But, you can’t hurt someone with singing. These days, you are more likely to get jailed for singing than you are for being on the park.

We don’t want to see any misbehaviour at football and the SFA have to act decisively now. Back in ’72, UEFA didn’t mess about and Rangers were given a two-year ban, which was reduced to a year on appeal, after our fans came onto the park in Barcelona.

Within a few days, that was it. The SFA now need to act quickly and decisively.

These pictures were all over the world and it presents a really poor image of our game.

You cannot have players on the park fearing for their safety. If you go out and you are thinking ‘if their fans come on, we could be attacked’ then what is the point in playing the game?

While the SFA are investigating what happened on Saturday, they should be having a look at the conduct of their Vice-President.

Club 1872 called for Rod Petrie to be removed from office this week and I certainly agree with them on that.

He came out with the most ridiculous comments after the game and it took him another couple of days before he spoke again. There has been no public apology to Rangers.

He should not be anywhere near the SFA and should not be allowed to have a say in how our game is being run.