SNS GroupRangers chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell have insisted they haven’t thought about quitting after problems on and off the park saw them become the focus of fan anger.
The senior Ibrox figures faced the media as they introduced former Sheffield Wednesday boss Daniel Rohl as the club’s new head coach.
They were quizzed on a tumultuous start to the American ownership’s new regime at Rangers, which saw Russell Martin sacked as head coach after a dismal record of just one win in seven league games, Champions League elimination, and defeat in the first two Europa League matches.
Fans have been unhappy with the performances from the team overall but also from some of the summer signings after a net spend of £20m in the transfer window, overseen by Stewart and Thelwell.
Supporter protests have targeted both individuals and called for their sacking. When asked if either had considered leaving, Stewart gave a blunt “No”, while Thelwell said Rangers was “worth fighting for”.
“I’m determined to work incredibly hard, together with everyone else at the club, to take Rangers back to where it belongs,” sporting director Thelwell said. “Yeah, I understand their criticism. And we’ve got to do much better.
“But Rangers, to me, is something that’s worth fighting for. So what I’m going to do next, and we’re all going to do next, is work as hard as we can to give the fans and this football club something to be proud of.”
SNS GroupCriticism of Thelwell has come not only from his sustained backing of Martin through Rangers worst start to a season in modern history, but also on the players brought in under his watch.
The Ibrox club brought in 12 new first team players in the window, with the marquee signing being Youssef Chermiti from Thelwell’s former club Everton for a fee of £10m.
The sporting director admitted that fans hadn’t seen the best of the new recruits yet but remains convinced of their quality.
“I think it’s a fair question,” he said. “And I think if I look at the first eight games in particular, it’s very, very difficult to say otherwise.
“Having said all that, we think that the group is a good group. We think they’re capable of much, much more.
“And we hope, through the appointment of Danny, we’ve got the opportunity to show their qualities in a much stronger way.
“I think we’ve recruited a very strong group who are very capable. And I’m hoping that over the course of the next group of games, you’re able to see the likes of Thelo Aasgaard and all the players that we signed in the summer reach their full potential and show that not only to you guys, but also to the fans.”
Directly addressing the questions about the wisdom of signing teenage forward Chermiti, who has yet to score for Rangers, for such a huge outlay, he said: “I think Youssef Djemiti is a player in particular who’s got huge potential. I’ve never doubted him in any way, shape or form.
“Again, I think Danny will help to get the best out of Youssef. Very early days for him. He’s a young talent. And of course, with young talents, they sometimes take a little bit of time. But I’m certain over the course of this career here, he’s going to prove that he’s a very, very good player.”
More recently, Thelwell has become the subject of supporters’ ire after his son Robbie was employed as head of recruitment. He defended that decision based on his son’s credentials and background but admitted it wasn’t nice to hear the criticism.
“I think it’s always uncomfortable to hear, and optically, I think we all agreed when we made this step to appoint Robbie that he was going to be seen in a particular way,” he said. “But the reality of the situation is that we want to bring the very best talent there to Rangers Football Club. My view on Robbie’s career, Robbie’s situation, is he didn’t need my help in football. He’s worked at Aston Villa as a senior scout. He then moved to Norwich City as head of scouting, and then got promoted to player pathways manager. And before we recruited him, two Premier League clubs wanted to take him.”
He also said he had advised against employing his son while at his former club Everton but that this time around he had been persuaded by a senior colleague that it was the right appointment.
“Dan Purdy, who’s the technical director who he will work for, wanted to take him to Everton Football Club,” he said. “When I was there, I told him that that shouldn’t be the case, and I didn’t think he was ready. But when the situation came around again, and Dan wanted to take him again, it was very difficult to say no.
“What we did do, right at the very start of that process, was to talk to Patrick, (chairman) Andrew Cavenagh and (vice-chair) Paraag Marathe and the board, and talk to them about this situation. I was extremely transparent about that’s what Dan wanted to do.
“I think Robbie probably went through a more rigorous process than probably anybody else who’s employed by this football club, truth be known. What I do know is that he will work 25-8 to bring success for this football club, and him and Dan work very closely together, and work very well together. And I’m looking forward to him proving that he’s going to be an excellent employee for Rangers.”
SNS GroupStewart was not part of the summer arrivals at Ibrox, and was appointed last December. He oversaw the final months of Philippe Clement’s time as manager as well as Barry Ferguson’s appointment as interim boss last season.
He said he would take responsibility for mistakes made in recent months and understood the feeling from fans. However, he said now was the time for him to work harder and earn their trust.
“Definitely have to take accountability when results on the pitch are not going well,” he said. “I think I completely understand the frustration and the hurt that fans feel, and myself as the chief executive, I’m ultimately accountable for everything that happens in the football club as is the board, and so we do take responsibility for mistakes made, and our duty is to learn from those mistakes and make sure that we don’t repeat them.
“As I said earlier, I totally understand the frustration and hurt that the supporters are feeling because the results this season haven’t been good enough, nobody’s happy with those. The heart and frustration they feel is mirrored within the boardroom.
“I understand that there has to be an outlet for those frustrations, and as chief executive, yes, that’s me, and I’m a lightning rod for those. My role as a leader, though, is to absorb that, but also now to work hard, work harder and make sure that we turn this around. So I’ve got to earn that trust.”
Explaining the messy-looking recruitment process that saw Steven Gerrard have talks before withdrawing his interest, Rohl rule himself out before a U-turn, and a move to appoint Kevin Muscat collapse when the Australian looked set for a return to Ibrox, Stewart said Rohl appointment showed it had ultimately been successful.
“I think ultimately the proof of the process is in terms of the outcome, and we’ve got who we wanted to appoint in terms of Danny, so that’s what we’ve got to look to in terms of the process,” he said. “I think we spoke to a number of different people.
“Some names ended up in the media, others didn’t. We cannot comment on confidential discussions, and equally we cannot control what others may say in the media or in briefings for whatever agenda they have.
“To that extent, yes, I can understand that on the outside it might look as though the process has gone awry, but all we can look at is the outcome of the process, which is we went in and had discussions with a number of very credible candidates, and we got one of those over the line.”
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