Rangers are a work in progress at the moment, both on the pitch and in the boardroom.
John Gilligan has assumed the interim chairman position after John Bennett stepped down due to ill health, however, he can’t do it on his own and needs help from the football department.
Philippe Clement hinted that he could get some top-level assistance soon with a CEO the top priority to get Rangers back on track.
Rangers board can’t neglect two key roles
A record sponsorship deal would have been in the pipeline for some time but the kit deal with Castore is also up for renewal.
Add this to the proposed work to the Sandy Jardine and Broomloan Road stands to match that of the Copland Road and it is easy to see why there needs to be a seperation for the board and footballing departments.
Which makes Chris Jack’s revelation in The Rangers Review all the more disturbing.
“Rangers have enlisted a recruitment agency to search the market for a chairman and chief executive officer. That role remains vacant after a move to appoint Jim Gillespie, the vice-chairman of St Mirren, collapsed earlier this month. The search for Bisgrove’s replacement is the priority for Gilligan.
“Rangers are also operating without a head of academy at present and the role of sporting director has become a topic of conversation amongst supporters once again. Both of those issues are not pressing ones for the board.”
It shouldn’t be a case of dealing with one job at a time.
Zeb Jacobs left his head of academy job before the end of last season so Rangers must have identified possible options by now.
If not, Gilligan must update fans with what the plan is when there are already questions about how the club is integrating and developing talented players like Alex Lowry and Bailey Rice.
And this is where the next problem comes in.
Downward spiral began when Rangers didn’t replace Ross Wilson
If Rangers had replaced Ross Wilson in his sporting director role, part of their remit would include drawing up possible replacements for each key footballing role.
Nils Koppen is the recruitment director and Creag Robertson head of football operations but they need somebody above them, someone who knows if they are doing a good job and someone with elite level experience in the role.
Rangers have gone through a reset this summer and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see whoever takes the Ibrox CEO hotseat restructure the football department.
To go from looking for a sporting director to just appointing Koppen as head of recruitment doesn’t make sense.
As has a lot of the decision making from the Rangers board recently.
