Rangers hunt for a new CEO has taken a dramatic twist this week with John Bennett still to replace the now Saudi Arabia based James Bisgrove.
Once reported as an imminent announcement, St Mirren’s vice-chairman dropped out of contention this week only for former Club England managing director Adrian Bevington to almost immediately throw his hat into the ring.
If Bennett is to get his “best in class” dream, the chairman must start making appointments who are capable of taking Rangers to another level.
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Adrian Bevington details best person for Rangers CEO job
Stewart Robertson had experience on a local level and Bisgrove had connections in UEFA, however, neither will have had the contacts that Bevington will have acquired in 20 years at the FA as well as his recent work as a consultant.
Part of this recent work for his own company saw him act as a representative for a potential investor from the USA, something that didn’t go down well in the Ibrox boardroom.
With no dog in the fight, Bevington holds no grudges at the failed proposal, however, he knows exactly what is needed for Rangers this time around, as told to The Daily Record:
“This is a very different set of circumstances. It’s not for me to say what anyone on the board at Rangers Football Club actually wants at this moment.
“What I would say is, for a club of a stature that it is, with the passionate fan base that it has, whichever direction they chose to go in, it’s a huge job. And whoever comes in has to have a real good understanding of the industry.
“They must have good football intelligence, business intelligence and, importantly, have a really strong network of people both in the UK, in Scotland obviously, but also internationally as well.
“It’s really important in my opinion for a club like Rangers. When you compare Rangers to Celtic at the moment, who are going very well, they are also very well represented in the European Club Association as one example.
“The ultimate aim for Rangers is to be at the top table of every big organisation. I don’t want to come across as someone who is talking myself up too much but obviously I do have a lot of contacts across the game.”
Rangers fall from grace shows the need for elite level operator
Bevington is right.
Cast your mind back to 1992/93 and Rangers were at the top table of UEFA with Celtic a poor cousin amongst Europe’s elite.
Secretary Campbell Ogilvie was the brainchild behind the Champions League and the reason why the European Cup format ceased to exist.
With Rangers being one of the first eight clubs represented on the eight star football emblem, it is a reminder of how far the club has fallen in stature.
There is nothing that can be done about the financial disparity, but there is no excuse for not being run like a big club.
Bevington has spoken more sense in the last few days than anyone from the club has since Dave King left his position as Rangers chairman.
A proper reset is exactly what Rangers need and a figure head who has the reputation needed to bring respect back within the halls of Ibrox.
Is Bevington the man to bring it back?
