Rangers chief Patrick Stewart confident on closing gap on Celtic after ‘seismic week’ for club

Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart says he’s very confident the Ibrox club can close the gap on rivals Celtic after what he described as a “seismic period” for the club.

Stewart was speaking after a whirlwind week at Rangers where the club introduced Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises as the new owners, Kevin Thelwell as sporting director, and Russell Martin as the new coach of the men’s first team.

“It clearly is incredibly significant,” the chief executive said.

“I think that’s three seismic changes. We’ve had a change of ownership, followed by a sporting director coming in, followed by a head coach being announced.

“That’s an awful lot of activity for one club in one week. I think it does herald a really positive new chapter for the club.

“It is a seismic period and sets a really strong foundation for the future.”

The new regime at Ibrox aim to deliver sustained success in domestic competition, as well as progress in Europe, but finished last season 17 points behind a Celtic side that has won the title four years in a row and had a virtual stranglehold on silverware in Scotland.

In the last five seasons Rangers have won three trophies, while Celtic have racked up nine and underlined their position as the strongest side in the country. Stewart says he is convinced that the balance of power will change, and that it will happen more quickly with new faces at the club and an imminent cash investment of £20m through a share issue.

“From the outset of taking on this role, I’ve always been confident that we can close any gap, if it exists, within Scotland,” he said.

“And I’ve always been confident we can do that with or without new investment.

“What the new investment allows us to do is accelerate on the plans and strategy.

“I’ve always been confident we can do that, and now we have new ownership that are highly engaged, highly committed, and we’re bringing in new management like Kevin on Monday and Russell today, I think we are in a really good position.

“Of course I’m confident. I’m very confident about that.”

Russell Martin was unveiled as the new head coach of Rangers after a months-long recruitment process. SNS Group

Central to hopes of getting to the top of Scottish football is the appointment of Martin, who is tasked with delivering a winning side. The former MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton boss is the permanent successor to Philippe Clement, who was sacked in February.

A number of candidates were linked with the club, and former Real Madrid coach Davide Ancelotti was one under serious consideration, but the chief executive said the long wait to make a decision was down to a rigorous process to make sure the right individual was brought in.

“It’s been a lengthy process, we don’t shy away from that and I think to some people’s frustration it’s not been more quick, Stewart explained.

“The first thing that we wanted to do was make sure we were hiring a head coach that matched the style of football we believe we need to play to be successful on a long-term basis.

“Once we had identified that, there’s a lot of data analysis and it creates a lot of long lists. Then there’s video analysis to look at how their teams perform. There’s a lot of interviews to understand the character of the various candidates and then there’s references taken so you understand how they worked in practice and it’s not just a good interview.

“So that’s a very long process and throughout that I’ve seen names who have been mentioned in the media, some who may have been involved and some who may not.

“But we only made one offer for this role and that was to Russell Martin.

“We’re delighted he accepted it.”

A manager who delivers ‘the style that best befits this club’

News of Martin’s appointment has been met with hostility from some of the Rangers support, with many unconvinced that the former player, who had an underwhelming loan spell at Ibrox in 2018, is the best choice.

“We’re always very sensitive and aware of supporter sentiment on any issue,” Stewart insisted. “I’m aware that supporters have strong views on who the right person for the role is.

“We’ll always factor that in to a degree but equally, I’ve been talking a lot about process and making sure we have people and experts in who are qualified to make decisions.

“We really put our trust in a process and making sure we’ve got the right people to make decisions and it really has been following that with a lot of discipline.

“We’re not oblivious to the noise at all. Not at all.

“But we are confident that because we’ve conducted such a thorough process to take us to this point where we’ve appointed Russell, we’re confident the fans will get behind him, especially when they see him in action.”

Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell says Russell Martin was brought in to deliver a specific style of play SNS Group

New sporting director Thelwell spelled out exactly why the club saw Martin as the man to shape the team for a new era.

“We all know what the job is,” he said. “The job is to win.

“We’re committed to that and we understand that Rangers Football Club has to appoint a head coach that helps the team to win.

“Of course, we think the best way of winning, certainly in terms of SPFL and Europe, is to play in a particular way.

“What we think in terms of a style that best befits a Rangers team is a style that dominates all aspects of the game. My expectation is that it’s what he fans would want from a Rangers team.

“They want us to be super-aggressive when we’re in possession, keep the ball, control the games. The games should be less transitional, with respect.

“And out of possession we should be aggressive and attacking without the ball. Dominating opponents when we’ve got it and they’ve got it.

“So we were looking for an individual who would understand Rangers, understand the context of what’s needed and the pressure of what’s required, and then be able to deliver the style that not only best befits this club but also gives us the best chance of winning.

“Through the process, that was Russell Martin.”