Rangers chief weighs in on Robbie Thelwell appointment as EPL interest laid bare

The Ibrox club’s decision to bring in Thelwell Jnr has rankled with some Rangers supporters - particularly as Thelwell Snr’s role during the summer transfer window of the hiring of now axed head coach Russell Martin have been deemed as failures.

However, Cavenagh says that he gave his blessing to the arrival and believes Thelwell Jnr can be a success alongside new head coach Danny Rohl, who was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon.

“There is no getting it past anyone,” said Cavenagh when he was asked directly by media during Rohl’s press conference. “You used that phrase. Kevin was incredibly transparent and brought it to us before anything happened. So from a transparency viewpoint it couldn’t have been more transparent.

“When you think about an organisation which wants to bring in talent, we encourage everybody in the club to bring people who would be good for us to us. We have many roles to fill. It is always better to hire people that you know. We have had experience of looking at a resume and spending 45 minutes assessing the wrong person. So we actively encourage people to bring in people that they know.

“We knew about the appointment, we approved the appointment, and we did because we went through a rigorous process to get Robbie into the seat. We believe that Robbie is eminently qualified. If we wasn’t he wouldn’t be here.

Timing key for the criticism

“At the same time, we are all well aware that the optics om it are poor. But I think the optics are poor in part because of the timing. If we are winning I don’t think it gets the attention. Because this club needs to get back to winning because that’s what the fans want, that is where they want to put their energy.

“We need to give that to them and we haven’t done that up until now.”

Thelwell also gave his verdict on his son’s arrival and fully expects him to prove his worth and dedication to Rangers.

“Optically, I think we all agreed when we made this step to appoint Robbie that he was going to be seen in a particular way,” said Thelwell. “But the reality of the situation is that we want to bring the very best talent there to Rangers Football Club.

“My view on Robbie's career, Robbie's situation, is he didn't need my help in football. He's worked at Aston Villa as a senior scout. He then moved to Norwich City as head of scouting, and then got promoted to player pathways manager. And before we recruited him, two Premier League clubs wanted to take him.

“Dan Purdy, who's the technical director who he will work for, wanted to take him to Everton Football Club. When I was there, I told him that that shouldn't be the case, and I didn't think he was ready. But when the situation came around again, and Dan wanted to take him again, it was very difficult to say no.

“What we did do, right at the very start of that process, was to talk to Patrick [Stewart] and Andrew [Cavenagh] and Paraag [Marathe] and the board, and talk to them about this situation. I was extremely transparent about that's what Dan wanted to do. And I think Robbie probably went through a more rigorous process than probably anybody else who's employed by this football club, truth be known.

“What I do know is that he will work 25-8 to bring success for this football club, and him and Dan work very closely together, and work very well together. And I'm looking forward to him proving that he's going to be an excellent employee for Rangers.”