Chairman Andrew Cavenagh insists he has never questioned the merits of his involvement with Rangers despite an “incredibly disappointing” first year at Ibrox.
It was on May 30, 2025, that the Govan club announced that a consortium of investors, led by US businessman Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, had purchased a majority stake in the club, committing to initially invest £20million.
Rangers appointed Russell Martin in June, then sacked him in October, to be replaced by German coach Danny Rohl, formerly of Sheffield Wednesday.
The Ibrox club then sacked chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell the following month, the latter eventually replaced by Jim Gillespie.
After improving results when he first came in, Rohl lost his touch and losing their first four post-split fixtures, ending Rangers’ William Hill Premiership title hopes with the season ultimately finishing trophyless once again after a reported £40million spent on players.
Quizzed on whether he had at any time in the last year asked himself why he had bothered to get involved with Rangers, Cavenagh said: “No, is the answer. This club gets into you at the molecular level. And once it’s done, you’re done. It’s happened to me and a bunch of us.
“I don’t ever want to use the words ‘enjoy’ or ‘fun’ because you can’t have a season like we’ve had and use those words. But the challenge is something I relish and Paraag (Marathe, fellow American who came in as part of the San Francisco 49ers Enterprise consortium last summer and who was vice chairman for a spell), relishes with the rest of us.
“The disappointment this year is very real for us. But all it’s done is provide motivation for us going forward.
“Rangers occupy 150 per cent of my thoughts.”
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On the question of any surprises during his tenure so far, Cavenagh said: “It’s a long list of things but we expected it to be difficult and we’ve been proven right in that regard. It has been a challenging year and incredibly disappointing. We know our supporters are disappointed, and we are too.
“But we take responsibility for it, and we’re more committed than ever to find success for this club. The fact that we got close and had a chance to win the title has left a terrible taste in everyone’s mouths.
“We’ll use that taste to remind us of where we were and to spur us on to where we want to get to. That will make success sweeter.”
Cavenagh has publicly engaged with match-attending supporters at several games this season, latterly in the final fixture of the season at Falkirk and has welcomed the feedback. He said: “My conversations with our supporters, I’ve really come to enjoy.
“Someone told me I should get to know them on a one-by-one basis. At Falkirk, that probably wasn’t the right medium to do that. But whether it’s in the stands or the streets, we all share certain things like the ambition to win and the understanding that we’re not good enough.
“We need to get better. At that point, there will be variation and different views on how to get there. But the common goal is the same so there’s common ground in those conversations even if there are disagreements over methods.”
