News broke earlier today that Rangers are set to announce the appointment of Robbie Thelwell as the club’s new head of recruitment in the coming days.
The news has sparked a heated reaction from the support as Thelwell, 26, is the son of the under fire sporting director Kevin Thelwell, who is unpopular at Ibrox due to his role in the appointing of unfavoured head coach Russell Martin, who has overseen the club’s worst domestic start in almost 50 years.
A former scout at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa, Thelwell Jr has been the head of technical scouting and loan management at English Championship club Norwich city for just over a year, with many fans doubting whether he has the experience or qualifications for such a role, with many pointing to nepotism being the reasoning for the hire.
Ahead of tomorrow evening's UEFA Europa League match away to Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz, Martin was asked by the media about his views on the appointment, with the head coach saying: “The club needs change. It needs to move forward and I really trust that Kevin, Dan [Purdy], Patrick [Stewart] and the owners, wouldn’t let anyone in the building unless they thought they were really good.
“I’m really happy with the appointments we’re making and really happy with the change we’ve made inside the club and I think we’re moving forward.”
When quizzed on whether his superiors had justified the appointment to him he went on to say: “I think the person most aware of that and having lots of chats with him would be Kevin, If he's got the same values and clarity as his old man, we’ll be in good hands.”
Thelwell Jr is one of many new appointments set to be announced in Govan, with Everton’s head of emerging talent Nathan Fisher also set to head North from Merseyside, where Thelwell Sr and technical director Purdy both arrived from in the summer, as the club’s head scout. Jaymes Monte, formerly of Dundee United, has also joined as data insights lead.
There have also been promotions from within the club, assistant kit man David MacGregor has been promoted to men’s head kit manager, despite earlier reports of a return being agreed for Jim McAllister’s return to the role after the departure of Luke Murphy, an unpopular replacement for McAllister, in the summer. Head of academy sports science Jamie Ramsden has also been promoted to the role of head of performance.