Rangers appoint Stewart Robertson as new MD

Former Motherwell Director Stewart Robertson has been appointed as Rangers' new managing director. Picture: SNS Group

The former Motherwell director was placed in control of day-to-day running of Rangers off the pitch just 24 hours after Mark Warburton was installed as the new first-team manager.

Rangers chairman Dave King has also secured his desired outcome from last Friday’s general meeting of shareholders at Ibrox with voting on both resolutions going against the wishes of Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley.

As King looks to restore Rangers’ fortunes and rebalance their financial affairs, Robertson will have a key role.

An investment manager by trade, he has been assisting Rangers in their financial department on a consultancy basis since King secured boardroom control from Ashley and his associates in March.

Robertson effectively replaces Derek Llambias, who was chief executive at Rangers until being ousted, along with finance director and fellow Ashley-ally Barry Leach, by King.

A graduate of Glasgow University, Robertson previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers before becoming a director of Hamilton Portfolio, the investment company owned by former Motherwell chairman John Boyle.

After also serving on the Fir Park board during Boyle’s regime, Robertson stepped down in January following Les Hutchison’s takeover of Motherwell.

Robertson also served as a board member of the Scottish Premier League from 2010 until 2011.

With King spending much of his time back in South Africa overseeing his Micromega Holdings business, Robertson will be in charge of operations at Ibrox.

Despite the results of Friday’s general meeting, which were announced yesterday, Rangers still face considerable challenges in resolving their issues with Ashley.

The Newcastle United owner’s resolution calling for immediate repayment of Sports Direct’s £5 million loan to Rangers, accepted by the previous board in January, was rejected by 53.64 per cent of those shareholders who voted.

King’s counter-resolution, which called for backing of efforts to renegotiate Rangers’ controversial retail contract with Sports Direct on a “fair and reasonable basis”, was supported by 62.5 per cent of shareholders. The turnout for both votes was around 78 per cent.

Ashley succeeded in obtaining a court injunction on the eve of last week’s meeting which prevented Rangers directors from revealing confidential details of the deal to shareholders. The contract, which gives Sports Direct a 75 per cent share of Rangers’ retail income, is understood to run until 2022.

The Rangers Supporters Trust has called on supporters to boycott the purchase of club merchandise from Sports Direct and any associated outlets while the current arrangements remain in place.