Why Rangers waited to act on axed duo and message to fans

Andrew Cavenagh gave an interview after sacking Stewart and Thelwell <i>(Image: Andrew Milligan)</i>
Andrew Cavenagh gave an interview after sacking Stewart and Thelwell (Image: Andrew Milligan)
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

Andrew Cavenagh has explained why now was the right time for Rangers to part company with Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell after fans protested against them for months.

The Ibrox chairman and his vice, Paraag Marathe, have taken the decision to get rid of the executive duo and the club announced their departures today. He has already explained it was felt the duo didn't fit the current needs of the club.

It has now been put to him that supporters may be scratching their heads at the timing given they have been demainding the pair's removal for some time now, after a poor transfer window and disappointing start to the season. Especially given there has been two head coach appointments in that time.

The US tycoon told Sky Sports: "Danny (Rohl) came in a month ago as you've commented on. Our focus, the first part of this season, the first part of our ownership period, has been on the sporting side and that's where all of our attention went to for obvious reasons. With Danny coming in, he has started to improve the on-pitch performance and that has created the space to allow for Paraag and I to look at other parts of the club, revitalise and assess what we need going forward, and that's what's led to this change.


"I think it's very common when new ownership comes into a club that changes are made. We've taken six months to make these changes. We believe they're the right changes for the club going forward, and I think that our supporters would understand that."

Cavenagh was also asked how much the supporters' protests factored into the decision and, while he insists fans being vocal can be a positive, says the club carried out their own analysis before landing on making the change.

"We think our supporters being vocal about their views is fantastic," he insisted. "I've really enjoyed getting to know a lot of them on a one-to-one basis.

"I've enjoyed the fan panels that we did last time I was in town, and we always like to to be aware of what they're thinking, but we've come to this decision based on our own data, our own review, our own analysis."

Finally, asked for a message to supporters, he added: "I think change is constant, but we think the changes have been positive too. My message to them would be that we're all on the same side. Every time we see something that we think we can make better that helps us achieve our goals, we will make that change and we're not afraid to do that."


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