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Scotland's Rangers remain in the red

A bird sits on a fence outside Rangers Ibrox stadium in Glasgow, Scotland April 24, 2012. REUTERS/David Moir (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Scottish soccer champions Rangers remained in the red in the first part of the current season, underlining the problems facing the famous Glasgow club as it tries to rebuild after a financial collapse. Rangers cut losses to 3.5 million pounds ($5.80 million) in the six months to December 31, 2013, figures released on Thursday showed, but chief executive Graham Wallace said more had to be done to reduce costs. Rangers have just secured a second successive promotion after relaunching from the fourth tier of the Scottish game following their collapse under a pile of debt in 2012. However, that smooth progress on the field has been overshadowed by boardroom infighting and fresh concerns about the financial health of the 54-times Scottish champions. "There remain many legacy issues that require resolution and many challenges ahead, however I am pleased to report that we are making good progress in repositioning the Club and business to be capable once again of challenging at the top levels of domestic and European competition," Wallace said in a statement. Rangers have agreed a short-term loan of 1.5 million pounds to help cover their costs for the next few months and further reductions in spending are likely to follow when Wallace completes a review of the business next month. Rangers raised 22 million pounds in December 2012 by selling shares and joining the AIM stock exchange in London, but investors are out of pocket as the price of the stock has crumbled. The problems at the club have given ammunition to critics who argue that soccer teams are a poor financial investment. (Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Stephen Eisenhammer)