The single biggest difference between Rangers and Celtic and contributing factor to success can be summed up in one word – stability.
They have it off the pitch in terms of ownership, finances and recruitment as well as on it in that they have had two managers in the last 10 years.
Compare that list to Rangers, and it is little wonder that the Ibrox trophy cabinet has been bare.
The imminent takeover by the 49ers Enterprises will be a start off the pitch, as will the appointment of Kevin Thelwell as sporting director.
The missing link? Who picks the team, however, with Davide Ancelotti now leading the race, are Rangers heading in a new direction?
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Davide Ancelotti on philosophy that is perfect for Rangers
Thelwell has spoken about a one club philosophy to make it easier for recruitment and to integrate academy players into the first team.
Patrick Stewart has also explained how managers will no longer dictate recruitment and that players will be bought based on this philosophy.
Departments like performance or medical should be the remit of Thelwell with the manager having nothing to do with their recruitment, despite Philippe Clement and Steven Gerrard both being involved in the past.
Ancelotti, speaking to the Training Ground Guru, believes that stability is key to success:
“Yes, and this is something that I think that have to stop in this world, because if you go to American sports, that is, I think, the best example that we can have is not like this,” Ancelotti said when asked why his dad Carlo doesn’t take a large entourage with him to every job.
“The philosophy has his own style, has his own staff, his own philosophy, and the manager is there to prepare the games, to make sure that the strategy is good, and that’s it.
“So maybe it’s extreme what they do in American sports, but here is extreme.
“From the other side, it’s not possible that the club, that change manager, change 12 people every time, because you cannot increase your level, you cannot improve.”
Could Ancelotti bring the stability that Rangers need?
Ancelotti is right.
Rangers have lurched from playing style, to playing style, with no consistency.
Players have been bought for different systems which now leaves a Rangers squad in desperate need of repair and riddled with imbalance.
Even last summer, the pressure was on Nils Koppen immediately, despite only being at Rangers for a handful of months with no real idea of the mental qualities needed to succeed in such a pressurised environment.
If Ancelotti is the man, it sounds like he isn’t arrogant enough to accept that no individual is bigger than the club and that he will need help from those who know Rangers and Scottish football.
