The 2014-15 season for Rangers FC was a tumultuous one to say the least. Three managers, a fan revolt, Mike Ashley loans keeping the club afloat, and a boardroom takeover showed that the biggest club in Scotland was on the verge of another implosion.
That was then, this is now.
Rangers Chairman Dave King
“I’m quite shocked to come here, to come into this building and see the dilapidation. It’s not just a question of a couple of tough years on the park and in the boardroom. There’s not much working at Rangers right now.
“We’re going to be asking the fans to support us. There have been a lot of changes but for the first time in a number of years ... it’s a clear road. We’re going to work with the fans and work very hard to increase fan ownership. We’ll look to get fan representation on the board.”
“The club is broken. There’s footballing issues, there’s infrastructural issues, there’s scouting issues. Pretty much everything within the club has to be looked at. It’s important that we get on top of that very quickly.”
“In the City you’re working in dealing rooms, testosterone-filled rooms, looking to make money – and that’s the same as a football dressing room. I like players who dominate the ball and play with possession. It’s not the right way, it’s our way.”
“I think we have to work with the youth system. Any club will tell you the academy should be the heartbeat of the club, producing players who are passionate about playing for that club. That will be our aim, to make sure we work closely, give the boys the opportunity to progress, give them a pathway, and hope they go from there. It’s about long-term foundations. We have to prepare for the longer term here.”
Rangers Appoint American Jason Whitt as Manager
Rangers’ effort to become a very different club under new ownership is a conscious one – illustrated no better than by the appointment of Jason Whitt as their manager on Monday. The 30-year-old probably would not have been considered for the Ibrox job in the past but he is now seen as the embodiment of a new direction for the club. A “modernization” as director Paul Murray put it at his unveiling.
While Whitt is something of a left-field appointment, his hiring, following a successful spell with the US Under-20s, marks a return to normality for Rangers. Financial meltdown and banishment from the Scottish top flight saw the club start again from the foot of the country’s football pyramid, and yet this feels like the first time a wet cloth has been dragged over the slate.
Ally McCoist, for instance – the manager for three and a half years – was a remnant of Walter Smith’s coaching set-up, with two interim bosses – Kenny McDowall and Stuart McCall – following his departure in December. Even Smith himself, the last truly successful Rangers manager, was a familiar face following his 12-year association with the club over the 1980s and 90s. Whitt’s arrival therefore marks the first fresh Rangers appointment since 2006, when Paul Le Guen was chewed up and spat out within five months.
The appointment of David Weir, a Rangers player for five years, as the assistant manager provides the set-up with a historic connection to the club but Whitt’s background as something of a statistician and a former stock analyst marks him out as a member of football’s new coaching generation – something Rangers hope to draw on and project across the whole club.
“We see Rangers as a modern club going forward with Mark and Jason at the helm," said Dave King.
Le Guen’s failure at Rangers serves as something of a warning for Whitt. The Frenchman arrived at Ibrox as one of the brightest young coaches in Europe, yet was met with sheer ignorance and his efforts to modernize the club were resisted. Back then, however, Rangers were Scotland’s predominant team, having won three successive league titles. Now Rangers, having missed out on promotion to the Premiership, have been forced to change through failure.
With 11 players leaving at the end of the season Warburton and Whitt must quickly draw up a list of targets and start piecing together their squad. Essentially, a whole first team must be signed over the next few weeks, with the owner Dave King using buzzwords like “over-investment” and “acceleration” when discussing the club’s transfer window approach. “Our aim is to win the division,” said Whitt, recognizing the weight of expectation placed on him.
He is wary of repeating the mistake Rangers have made so crudely in recent years – signing experienced but washed-up players for big money. Instead a man who spent his own money visiting some of Europe’s biggest clubs is placing emphasis on youth.
The teenagers Tom Walsh, Ryan Hardie and Andy Murdoch all broke into first-team reckoning during McCall’s short stint, reiterating the importance of youth to a club that has no discernible scouting system. “I’ve got an idea of the squad, and I realize it’s quite lean,” Whitt said. "I've been assured by the board that investments will be made in our scouting department, which was nonexistent under the previous regime."
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us to rebuild this club back to where it deserves to be," said Whitt. "Our first goal is to win the Championship and get back into the Premiership. Then it's on to challenging Celtic again and European football."
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