NEW Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell today stressed that head coach Russell Martin will have the final say on every player he and his recruitment team identify as a prospective signing.
Thelwell, who has previously worked at Preston North End, Derby County, Wolves, New York Red Bulls and Everton, was appointed by the Ibrox club last month and started his new role on Monday.
The Englishman has been involved in every step of the search to find a replacement for Philippe Clement and is confident that Martin, the former MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton manager, is the right man to lead the Glasgow giants forward.
He stressed that he and his staff would support the ex-Scotland internationalist in every way that they could and would not sanction the acquisition of any player without receiving his approval first.
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“Put very simply, the way in which we will be organised is we've got a head coach and we've got a sporting director,” he said.
“Head coaches are responsible for the most important bit, preparation of the team, performance of the team, fundamentally the results. My role is to try and make sure that all the support services that sit around Russell are as strong as they possibly can be to give us the best chance of winning.
“When we talk about recruitment, clearly it's going to be a collaborative approach. I've never been in this role ever where I've signed a player for the first team that hasn't been supported by the head coach or the manager. So we'll talk a lot about how we want to play.
“We'll talk a lot about what profiles we think we need and what positions we think we need. And then between Russell and I and the recruitment team, we'll sit down and identify players that we think can make us better very quickly. And then between us, we'll decide about what we do next from that point of perspective.
“That's generally how I've worked and generally how we've discussed how it's going to work. And for me, that's probably been a good way of working so that we've got some clarity. But then also, it's understood it's a collaborative approach where we work together to get the best outcome.”
“Through a very stringent and very thorough process, it was clear right from the very start to all of us that Russell was the outstanding candidate and we're absolutely delighted that he's decided to join us,” he said.
“He's had a strong career now, over 250 games, both as a manager and as a head coach. We can all see over the course of that journey, he's sharpened his approach, not only from a technical perspective and a tactical perspective, but also from a personal perspective.
“I'm very excited to see what he's going to bring to Rangers Football Club and the team and very much looking forward to working with him going forward.”
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Thelwell continued, “We wanted to use the time well and make sure we made as strong of a decision as we possibly could do. I think it was the right decision to do that. We appreciate there's now pre-season on the horizon and also European games coming thick and fast.
“But we think that by using that time we got exactly the right candidate that's the perfect fit for Rangers Football Club. From my perspective, I've seen Russell's team play for many years.
“In particular, if I look back at that Championship season with Southampton and also the Premier League season, there's a lot to be proud of there and there's a lot that fits Rangers Football Club going forwards.”
Asked how he expects Rangers to play under Martin, he said, “Russell's explained quite clearly what we think Rangers Football Club needs to be. We need to be dominating in all moments, all of those key moments of the game. When we've got it, when we haven't got it and then the transition bits in between.
“I’m delighted that we were able to have those conversations, delighted that you made it slightly easier for me with the negotiations and also very, very pleased that you're sat next to me now and getting ready to work.”
