Sports News

James Bisgrove has verified his upcoming discussions with Rangers chairman John Bennett regarding the finalization of appointing a new director of football at Ibrox.

During the fan forum Q&A on November 7th, the Gers' CEO mentioned plans for meetings by the end of the week, confirming that the appointment process is now reaching its concluding phase, according to information from 4 Lads Had A Dream.

The position has remained vacant since Ross Wilson departed for Nottingham Forest last April.

Michael Beale had taken on some of the responsibilities until Philippe Clement took over last month.

Bisgrove had previously stressed the pivotal role of football governance in Rangers' success, highlighting the imminent arrival as the "final piece of the off-field puzzle," as suggested by Chris Jack.

Bisgrove said: “Coming to [the] final stages, [the] chairman and I will have more meetings in London at end of the week. That individual will lead our recruitment team and liaise with Creag [Robertson] with everything in our football department.

“Our football board is vital, this appointment will compliment that. You can see in recruitment in this club how important that is. We are moving to the final stages on this.”

He had previously said upon the appointment of Clement, as per Rangers Review (7 November): “Both the chairman and I recognise that the leadership, the governance of the football department is absolutely fundamental to our short, medium and long term success.

“In that regard, we have a football board with a number of leaders across the football department. We have our chief scout, John Park, who sits on that, we have Creag Robertson, our director of football operations, the chairman and myself, the manager, Dr Mark Waller, our director of medical and performance, and our academy director.

“We feel we have got a really strong group of leaders that will implement the football strategy and take key decisions, whether that is player contracts, player acquisitions. All of that said, we do believe a director of football, a technical director, is something that will add additional value.”

Wilson faced severe criticism from many supporters before his departure from the club. However, the decision to allow Beale to oversee the squad's overhaul in the summer has resulted in serious negative repercussions, particularly for the former manager himself.

There were indications during the summer that efforts were being made to fill the sporting director role, but several months later, it remains vacant.

Stuart Webber from Norwich City reportedly rejected Rangers once but has more recently been associated with the position as he leaves Carrow Road.

For proper support of the new boss, Clement, especially before the upcoming January transfer window - a period that could significantly impact the title race - it seems imperative to make the appointment sooner rather than later.

Bisgrove's strong emphasis on the importance of this operation for the club raises questions for him, Bennett, as well as former individuals like Douglas Park and Stewart Robertson, regarding why it has taken so long to reach this stage.

Now, supporters must hope that the arrival of the new appointee signifies a case of "better late than never," offering a chance to break the cycle of constant changes in managerial positions and a hit-or-miss record in the transfer market, thereby stabilizing the situation.