The man driving the Rangers revolution - 'make some hard and fast decisions'

Born in Autumn 1973, Kevin Thelwell is of a vintage that he vividly remembers when Rangers shocked the football world to appoint Graeme Souness as player-manager in 1986.

Although growing up in the north-west of England in what he has described as an “Evertonian household”, it would have been hard to remain unaware of the Ibrox club’s policy around the time of signing some of the best players from the top clubs in England. Indeed, a couple of them were playing for Everton. Gary Stevens and Trevor Steven were among those attracted to Ibrox by wages and the prospect of European football.

It is a different era now, of course. Thelwell has made the circuitous route to Ibrox, via Everton of all places as well as New York and Wolverhampton, having made his mark in the world of football strategy and operations rather than as a professional player, which was the dream. He came through the youth ranks at Crewe Alexandra but failed to make a competitive appearance either there or at Shrewsbury Town, the club he later joined.

Kevin Thelwell is Rangers' new sporting director. | SNS Group

As Sporting Director at Rangers, he is seeking to revolutionise the club in a quieter way than when Souness implemented his less than subtle strategy in the mid-to-late 1980s. Ideally, though, it will prove as effective in the long-term. The coming weeks will reveal a lot as Thelwell gets to work alongside Russell Martin, the manager who he had a significant say in choosing to take Rangers into a new era.

They have already started sifting through the first team squad of 27 players, many of whom fans would suggest have overstayed their welcome. It’s been speculated that as many as 12 might be exiting with another 12 brought in to replace them. Players such as Conor Coady, from Leicester City, and Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Dor Turgeman have already been strongly linked.

“I probably wouldn't want to put a number on it in this moment,” said Thelwell, when asked about the extent of the squad overhaul. “I think clearly there's been some work being done behind the scenes. We've been evaluating and reviewing the current group that we've got. There's some very, very good players in that group. But then also, as at every football club, there's room for improvement, isn't there?

Rangers’ ‘real opportunity’

“Now that Russell is in as the head coach, we've got a real opportunity now to sit down very, very quickly and talk more about what that group looks like currently and what we need to do going forward. Make some hard and fast decisions and then start to hopefully build a team very, very quickly that helps us to win.”

There are clearly players Rangers would rather keep because of what they can do on the pitch, although the new strategic model is hinged on a more sensible approach to selling players at the right time to accumulate the maximum profit possible. Nico Raskin, who has shone for Belgium in recent days, falls into the category of a young player attracting admiring glances and who would attract a decent fee.

“From my perspective, we want the strongest team possible, don't we?” said Thelwell. “Of course, I think we all understand there's going to be some players that come and also there will be some players that leave. That has to be part of any plan, effectively. But in reality, where we want to be is we want to make sure that by the time that transfer window closes the team looks stronger for the work that we've done during that trading window. And that's what we'll be working on.”

Swapping Goodison Park for Ibrox means changing one iconic venue for another. Stadium architect Archibald Leitch’s criss-cross balcony motif, as conspicuous at Ibrox as it is at Everton’s ground, will make him feel at home. There are some crucial differences, however – principally the pressure to win trophies.

“I've been very lucky over the course of my career to visit Rangers and Ibrox many, many times,” said Thelwell. “Clearly, it's a huge club with an unbelievable fan base. The atmosphere when things are going well here is like no other place. I'm very lucky that I've experienced an unbelievable football club most recently in Everton. Goodison is very, very special, but Ibrox is very, very special as well.

“It's clear we've been in a low moment for a long period. The ability to change that, the opportunity to change that, was also very special, and the opportunity to win something. In the Premier League, winning is seen as retaining Premier League status the majority of the time for the majority of clubs. Whereas here, that's not the expectation. The expectation is to win something, achieve something. I think we're all committed to that. We all understand what the job is. It is to win.”