Rangers chief Patrick Stewart addresses Leeds feeder club suggestion

Andrew Cavenagh and his consortium completed their multi-million pound takeover last week as Dave King and John Bennett offloaded their entire stakes in Rangers and other investors sold percentages of their shareholdings. The group now hold a 51 per cent controlling interest in Rangers and Cavenagh was named as chairman as significant changes were made to the board.

Paraag Marathe was also appointed as a director as the 49ers signalled their intent to make a real difference on and off the field at Ibrox. The move comes just weeks after United chairman Marathe saw Daniel Farke's side clinch their return to the Premier League.

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Suggestions that Rangers and Leeds could enter into a partnership were downplayed by sources on both sides of the deal some time ago. And Stewart insists any relationship between Ibrox and Elland Road will not involve a more formal agreement.

“I think firstly that this isn't a multi-club ownership model,” Stewart said. “It just simply isn't. There is no common parent club. There is a limited amount of overlap. 

“Paraag Marathe is the chairman of Leeds and the vice-chair of Rangers. We have a couple of other individuals that have interests or roles in both clubs.

“There's commonality, but there's not any control from one club to the other. I see it as there could be opportunities, but the directors of Rangers are always going to operate in the best interests of Rangers.

“The Scottish FA is part of that process. They made very clear, for example, which we are grateful for, that Rangers' participation in UEFA competitions cannot be harmed by any of this overlap. I just see opportunity, and now having experienced working with Parag and 49ers, I think that opportunity is real.”

The investment from Cavenagh and the 49ers could be transformative for Rangers. The deal was signed off last Thursday evening and the first major move was made a week later as Russell Martin was named as head coach on a three-year deal.

Gretar Steinsson, the 49ers technical director, was an influential figure in the recruitment process as Martin won the race to succeed Philippe Clement. Now Rangers will look to tap into the vast knowledge base Stateside as a new era dawns at Ibrox.

“I think what 49ers have got is they're building up and they've already built up a high degree of expertise in a number of different sports, including football obviously in Leeds and obviously NFL,” Stewart, the chief executive officer, said. “What we tap into is a network of expertise where we can grow together. 

“I've had several discussions with counterparts at Leeds, at 49ers Enterprises, just sharing information but also really importantly networks and those networks can be helpful from a technical perspective or from a commercial perspective.

“We very much see 49ers role in the consortium as providing that level of expertise that will help fill in some of the gaps we've got, complement what we've got as well but the strategic significance they can have shouldn't be underestimated.”