Transfers, identity, Clement: the six burning issues on ex-Man Utd man's Rangers to-do list
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Rangers are reportedly closing in on ex-Manchester United executive Patrick Stewart as the club's new CEO.
Rangers have been without someone in the crucial executive role since September, when James Bisgrove jumped ship for Saudi Arabia.
The news surrounding Patrick Stewart also comes as Rangers look to appoint Malcolm Offord as the club's new chairman, the Tory peer joining Stewart in bringing substantial pedigree to the executive team at Ibrox.
Here we look at the the six major tasks on Patrick Stewart's to-do list should he, as expected, complete his move Ibrox.
Address Philippe Clement's Rangers future
The future of Rangers manager Philippe Clement is a source of constant debate at Ibrox with the Belgian floundering in charge of the Bears this season.
Following the 1-1 draw with Dundee United, a nervous Philippe Clement fronted the press as calls for the manager to go get louder amongst fans.
With Rangers now 11 points off a rampant Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, fans are resigning themselves to yet another season of domestic disappointment.
But all things considered, the conditions have been challenging for Clement.
The Gers cut almost £10m off their wage bill this summer, seeing 16 players leave, whilst the Belgian has been outspoken about having to front the chaos which enveloped the executive team.
The ability to reinvest in the squad was badly hampered by an ill-thought out contract model which saw several players leave for nothing, whilst Rangers' expensive retail battle with Elite/Hummel was also settled this summer.
A failure to qualify for the Champions League wasn't helped by the delayed Copland Stand redevelopment which saw the club relocate to Hampden in the early part of the season.
Nonetheless, by Clement's own admission Rangers are 'not where we want to be' and Patrick Stewart will have to establish the situation more clearly at Ibrox.
Even if Clement is to get a chance under the Aberdeen-born executive, it cannot be with zero expectation this season and how Stewart handles the situation will lay the foundation of his early Ibrox tenure.
Follow up January transfer plans at Ibrox
Interim Rangers chairman John Gilligan has been clear that there will be money for Rangers to spend in January.
And fans are expecting the club to spend it.
The Rangers squad is desperately short in a number of areas and new technical director Nils Koppen has previously claimed the Gers have 'identified' positions of concern.
Rangers are expected to go out and deliver on these soundbites and it will be Patrick Stewart's job as CEO to sign off on the deals fans want to see done in January.
With Rangers' title ambitions hanging by a thread, and the toughest tests of the Europa League campaign yet to come, it remains to be seen if the club will even be in the running for either competition come the turn of the year.
But with Clement's appeal for patience and Rangers' promise of spending raising expectations ahead of next year, the second half of the campaign simply must be more rewarding that the first.
Bolster Rangers' player trading model
Say what you like about Ross Wilson – and trust us, we've said plenty already – but the former Rangers sporting director and contemporaries such as Stewart Robertson did spark the Ibrox side's non-existent player trading model into life.
But whilst selling the likes of Nathan Patterson, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey for somewhere in the region of £40m should've kickstarted the club's player trading model, it has all but doomed it.
Indulgent signings of overpaid, ineffective English Championship dross not equipped for the rigours of winning football have come back to haunt Rangers.
As have the signings of injury-prone, lightweight players.
The club has also failed to move on its top assets at their apex and its come back to bite them, and then some, when contracts have expired.
This cannot be allowed to happen again and if Rangers are serious about challenging Celtic long-term, then the club needs to get its act together.
The Parkhead side's fluid player trading model has been over a decade in the building and is the envy of the Ibrox boardroom.
Celtic also have a number of assets which they can rely on banking them a fortune as the seasons progress.
Rangers must work out a way to do similar with Patrick Stewart responsible for ensuring this Ibrox 'pillar' is, for the first time, built on solid foundations.
Establish Rangers' executive structure
Whilst Rangers' on-pitch structure has been a mess ever since Steven Gerrard left, off the park the situation has been very much similar.
Rangers lack structure in every department and it's that lack of stability and consistency in decision-making which is coming back to haunt the club now.
Overhaul after overhaul has seen different people introduce different ideas with everyone from the tea lady to the club's captain suffering from a lack of reliable consistency.
Rangers' executive structure has been in a state of near constant evolution ever since Robertson and Wilson left and it is still yet to be properly defined.
The club's 'footballing board' appears to have all but disintegrated with Zeb Jacobs, James Bisgrove, John Bennett and Creag Robertson all leaving important roles this year.
If Rangers are to flourish, it needs a structure which won't collapse with one executive exit with several key roles still needing filled and/or established at Ibrox.
Improve Rangers financials and investment
It's not unfair to say that Rangers' financial situation makes for for grim reading and even grimmer headlines at the moment.
Rangers' shareholders – and coincidentally those driving the club – deserve huge credit for reclaiming the Gers from the grip of those who didn't serve its best interests.
But now those same investors have calamitously steered the club towards the rocks with post-55 investment apprehension coming back to bite big time.
Sustainability is the word of the era not just at Rangers but in European football and there won't be a single bluenose out there who wants to go through 2012 again.
It is imperative Rangers are both sustainable and competitive, with the club neither at this present moment.
Recording a loss of £17m in the latest Rangers accounts, these are unsustainable numbers which clearly have not been rewarding enough on the pitch.
It has got to change and both Patrick Stewart and Malcolm Offord will be tasked with pushing the club in a healthier financial direction.
With plenty of links to the Premier League and the City of London between them, there will be opportunities.
Reinstall Rangers' identity and standards
Rangers fans are increasingly at odds with the club, and not just because of the woeful performance on and off the pitch.
Many within the Gers support feel disconnected with the leadership of Rangers, who appear disengaged with the culture, history, tradition and standards of Ibrox which have made the club great.
It is no coincidence that as a feeling of disconnect spreads amongst Rangers fans the club is also failing to get things right on the pitch.
Both work in tandem and fostering a positive relationship between the club, fans and players cannot be neglected.
Rangers lack identity on and off the park and fans want to be represented by the players, personalities and icons who understand what it means to play for the club.
This also isn't a question of British over foreign influence; there are a plethora of great international names of our past who, quite simply, understand Rangers more than 90% of those currently inside Ibrox.
Nils Koppen has pointed to more Rangers influence in the academy but in the stands, fans want to feel like a greater part of the club and also better represented by it.
Rangers will always be a stronger as a collective but the direction we've headed down in this regard in recent seasons has left fans increasingly estranged.
If Patrick Stewart can help foster that missing Rangers identity and those missing standards on and park, the sky is the limit.
