Patrick Stewart details Rangers 'culture' change to break winless run

Gerrard made the call to the Ibrox board in May 2021 as he urged them to capitalise on their first Premiership title in a decade and to go from strength to strength on and off the pitch. On Thursday, Russell Martin became the fourth manager in as many years to be appointed since Gerrard left midway through the defence of that league crown.

The task that Martin has been set is the same one that was laid down in front of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement. The circumstances are very different, though, and the 39-year-old returns to the club at a time of change and of excitement following the takeover by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises.

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The two men who sat alongside Martin at his unveiling on Thursday morning – Stewart, the chief executive officer, and sporting director Kevin Thelwell – have plenty to be getting on with over the course of the summer. While Martin prepares to make his mark on the pitch, Stewart and Thelwell have a transfer strategy to execute and plans to implement at Ibrox and Auchenhowie.

It is the start of a new era, the beginning of a new project. Yet the old demands and expectations are still there for Rangers. Long-term achievement cannot be preceded by short-term failure.

“I fully appreciate it's very different and the expectation is success now whilst developing,” Stewart said. “So we've got to build the plane while we're flying the plane. 

“Everyone recognises that. Russell recognises it, Kevin recognises it. It is hard, it is really hard but we've all, I think, all of us that are here and people we're bringing in, people that are operating at a senior level here, they're used to working in hard conditions. 

Russell Martin has been named as Rangers head coach (Image: Steve Welsh)

“They're used to big challenges but we see that as a positive, we enjoy the challenge. You come to a club of the stature of Rangers and if you don't come with your eyes open you probably wouldn't get through the door in the first place. We love the challenge, we want to take on the challenge and we're confident we'll succeed.”

It is a good job that Stewart and his executive team are up for the fight. The influence of Cavenagh and his consortium will not end with a share purchase and initial investment and the new owners will rightly set a high bar for Rangers to attempt to reach at the first time of asking.

Stewart highlighted the importance of communication – both along the corridor and across the Atlantic – when asked about his remit this summer. He has hired people and will implement processes. The biggest shift must come in the minds of those who step into the building every day.

“We've been second for a long time, obviously 55 aside, and if we don't change something we're going to continue finishing second,” Stewart said. “I'm probably stating the obvious that we have to change things, we have to change people, we have to change culture. 

“In a sports club, whatever the sport is, if you've not got the right culture you're not going to be winning either on or off the pitch so we've got to make sure that everyone's presenting the best version of themselves, everyone's pulling together. That is a cultural thing and you need people to drive that culture, it doesn't just create itself. 

“From ownership, myself, Kev, Russell, we're all really focused on culture and that's one aspect of the alignment I'm talking about is we all understand what a positive culture looks like and what you need to do to build that and if you get that right then the winning follows that. It’s every aspect.”

The appointment of Martin had been a long time coming. More than 100 days since Philippe Clement was sacked and almost three weeks since the end of the campaign, Rangers made a move and installed their head coach.

It represents something of a quickfire hat-trick at Ibrox. Thelwell has only just officially started working north of the border, while the paperwork was signed and sealed last Thursday to herald in regime change. This is not a moment to sit back and relax.

“Yeah, I think ultimately when it's times like this you've just got to put your shoulders to the wheel and do long hours,” Stewart said. “Equally, since I joined, we've got some really good people at the club already that you can delegate stuff to, brought in some new people. Greig [Mailer], Kev being a really good example.

“We've been doing a lot but there's a lot of people putting their shoulders to the wheel. Also, new ownership has been great though. They only took control officially a week ago now.

“We've been speaking with them for several weeks now and just making sure that the steps that we're taking are steps that they don't want to unwind. So yeah, a big team effort.”

The clock is now ticking for Martin. Rangers return to pre-season training on June 23 and will enter the Champions League a month later as the first matches arrive quickly.

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Defeat to Dynamo Kyiv last term set the tone for Clement. Rangers never recovered from a sluggish start. Martin needs to burst out of the blocks for many reasons but Stewart believes he can benefit from the foundations that he has inherited.

“I think for any club that's in a country where we've got the coefficient that we've currently got, it's a challenge,” Stewart said. “We've got a lot of hard work to do in a short space of time. We start in Q2 through to Q3 and then play-off.

“At every stage, you're coming up against clubs of similar size and ambition. It's going to be tough, but this summer is no different to any prior summer. In fact, I would say this summer we don't have some of the background noise that there was last summer in terms of stadium.

“If anything, we're going in with settled ownership, settled management, ahead of players coming back from the break. It's a lot of hard work to do, but also a lot to be positive about.”