Rangers have sacked chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell, with Sky Sports reporter Luke Shanley sharing an update live from Ibrox on Monday regarding the search for their replacements.
The pair have been the target of intense supporter unrest after a disastrous start to the season in which Gers won only one of their first eight league games and suffered seven consecutive European defeats following a much-maligned summer recruitment drive.
As bad as Aasgaard: Rangers must drop Ibrox dud who Rohl "needs more from"
Danny Rohl should drop this Rangers flop who was as bad as Thelo Aasgaard against Livingston.
ByDan Emery
Thelwell’s short spell at Ibrox is largely defined by the decision to appoint Russell Martin, who proved to be Gers’ shortest-serving permanent manager in history when he was sacked in October after just 17 games in charge.
Although domestic form has improved since Danny Rohl replaced Martin as manager, the American owners have acted decisively after taking some time to assess the situation at Ibrox.
“Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell are leaving Rangers Football Club,” said chairman Andrew Cavenagh on Monday.
“Responsible change is measured and steady. Our first priority has been to improve the sporting performance, and that led to our decision to part ways with Russell Martin and bring in Danny Rohl. Danny has now started the process of improving the on-pitch performance, and that has given us the chance to focus on other parts of the club.
“Patrick and Kev are both skilled executives and have delivered a lot for the club in their time with it. We’ve now had six months since we became part of Rangers to assess the club’s needs as well as to get to know Patrick and Kev a bit more.
“Simply put, when we think about what we need in both CEO and sporting director today, it’s different than who we think Patrick and Kev are.
“We want people that align with the vision for the next chapter. I will not throw dirt on either of them. I think very highly of them both on personal and professional levels. It’s just the reality that the club needs different things today than it did six months ago.
“We’ve already started the hiring process and hope to have appointments soon, but we will prioritise quality and fit over speed.”
Fraser Thornton, the Gers’ director, will act as interim CEO, and Shanley shared a quick update on next steps live from Ibrox on Sky Sports News on Monday, revealing Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe will personally oversee the process.
It should be music to fans’ ears that the new men in charge at Ibrox are taking personal ownership of the hiring process. With arch-rivals Celtic’s board facing their own turmoil, the opportunity is there to snatch back the crown of Scottish football if the American duo can get their next appointments right.