{"id":216620,"date":"2025-10-22T00:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T00:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/216620\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T00:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T00:15:11","slug":"andrew-cavenagh-denies-rangers-recruitment-was-shambolic-and-backs-kevin-thelwell-and-patrick-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/216620\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Cavenagh denies Rangers recruitment was shambolic and backs Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh has denied that the recruitment process to appoint a successor to Russell Martin was \u201cshambolic\u201d but admits it looks messy from outside the club. <\/p>\n

Cavenagh has also defended chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell from criticism, saying they have his backing, and promised funds to strengthen the current squad in January.<\/p>\n

The American businessman, who completed an Ibrox takeover alongside Paraag Marathe and 49ers Enterprises early in the summer, was speaking to STV after the appointment of Daniel Rohl as the club\u2019s new head coach.<\/p>\n

Rohl was named as the man to turn the team around after Martin\u2019s disastrous reign but only after a fairly lengthy process that saw several names in the frame.<\/p>\n

Former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was first to be close to the hotseat, having advanced talks and appearing set for an announcement before it was revealed he had walked away and that the timing wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

Rohl was then in the spotlight as leading contender but he withdrew from the process only for Kevin Muscat to close in on a move to Ibrox. That move collapsed with Rangers saying there were issues over his exit date from Shanghai Port.<\/p>\n

The move for Rohl then came back to the forefront and concluded with the German signing a two-and-a-half year deal.<\/p>\n

When it was put to Cavenagh that the process appeared shambolic, with the club lurching from one preferred candidate to another, and with three people withdrawing from the process at different times, he said the full picture wasn\u2019t evident to those on the outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do refute that [it was a shambles],\u201d he told STV. \u201cBut I don\u2019t refute that it would have looked like that from the outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re running a search process from the club\u2019s perspective, we have to be incredibly confidential with everything that we are doing, and keep our cards very close to our chests.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what our supporters were able to see was a small fraction of what was actually happening. We were very happy with the recruitment process that led to Daniel Rohl being our head coach and we actually pursued five different candidates at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree of those names have been mentioned and there are two that you\u2019ve never heard about. I just highlight that to show that people don\u2019t hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Premiership-winning former Rangers boss Gerrard pulled out of the running, there was widespread speculation that there was an issue with the Englishman wanting to be a traditional manager rather than a head coach who has all recruitment done above him in the structure that is headed by sporting director Thelwell. Cavenagh wouldn\u2019t go into details but insisted that wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would say is that every conversation I had with Steven has to remain confidential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve said the timing of the appointment just didn\u2019t work for him but I do not believe that the recruitment process was the thing that kept him from coming to Rangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thelwell\u2019s recruitment, and the day-to-day stewardship of chief executive Stewart have seen both targeted by fans who demand their sacking. Both said on Tuesday they had never considered resigning, and while Cavenagh pointed to \u201cmistakes\u201d he was behind both.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have my full backing,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have made mistakes, as have Paraag and I, and I think we have admitted to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you make a mistake then the most important thing after owning it is to rectify it. Everyone in this organisation is accountable and we all need to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a nightmare start to his time as an owner, Cavenagh is now hoping the appointment of Rohl is a turning point. And having spent net \u00a320m in the summer window, he is fully prepared to keep investing in the squad and backing the head coach with players he needs to be a success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t believe coming out of the summer window that the squad was complete,\u201d the chairman said. \u201cWe never expected to get everything in one window. So we go into this window knowing that there is work to be done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s probably some in the summer window and the club needs a little bit more steel and probably a little more experience. We\u2019re also a little bit heavy on loan players and obviously there\u2019s not a lot of depth at left back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we went into this knowing that there\u2019s work to be done We will sit with Danny and sit with Kevin [Thelwell] between now and then and if there are players that we think can make a difference, then we will invest to bring players in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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