Inside next Rangers manager hiring process as Patrick Stewart sets record straight on Russell Martin offer
Davide Ancelotti, Steven Gerrard, Brian Priske and Francesco Farioli were all heavily linked with the vacancy
Patrick Stewart insists Russell Martin was always the new Ibrox board's top pick to be Rangers manager.
The 39-year-old was yesterday handed the honour of being just the 20th man to take the top job in Govan.
It comes after a lengthy four-month head-hunting process during which Stewart and his new sporting director Kevin Thelwell met with a number of other candidates.
Former Real Madrid No. 2 Davide Ancelotti - son of five-time Champions League-winning boss Carlo - was thought to be the frontrunner for the gig for a spell, while the likes of ex-Ibrox gaffer Steven Gerrard, former Feyenoord coach Brian Priske and recently axed Ajax manager Francesco Farioli were also rumoured to be in the running.
But Stewart was adamant that Martin was always the stand-out candidate.
The Gers CEO said: 'It has been a lengthy process and I don't think we shy away from that. I think to some people's frustration it's not been more quickly.
'As I explained at the outset, the first thing that we wanted to do was make sure that we were hiring a head coach that matched the style of football we believe we need to play in order to be successful on a long term basis.
'Once we identified that then a lot of data analysis and it creates long lists and then there's a lot of video analysis to look at how coaches, coaching practice, how their teams perform.
'There's a lot of interviews to understand the characters of the coaches of the various candidates. There's also a lot of references taken so you understand how they've worked in practice and it's not just a good interview etc.
'So that's a very long process and throughout that I've seen names have been mentioned in the media. Some may have been involved, some may not have been involved but we only made one offer for this role and that was to Russell Martin and we're delighted he accepted it.'
The appointment of the former MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton boss has been met with what can at best be described as a lukewarm welcome from the Ibrox legions.
But Stewart is confident the former Scotland defender will be a success after carrying out extensive background research.
'I think first of all, we're always very sensitive and aware of supporter sentiment on any issue, and I'm aware that supporters have strong views on who the right person for the role is,' said Stewart.
'We'll always factor that into a degree but equally I've been talking a lot today about process and making sure we've got people and experts that are qualified to make decisions.
'So we really put our trust in a process, making sure we've got the right people in to make decisions and so it has been following that with a lot of discipline.
"We're not oblivious to the noise at all, not at all, but I think we are confident that because we've conducted such a thorough process to take us to this point where we've appointed Russell that we're confident that the supporters will get behind him, particularly when we see him in action.'
The appointment of Martin came less than a week after the club's new American owners finally took hold of the keys to Ibrox.
While it was Thelwell and Stewart who led the search for Philippe Clement's replacement, it was done in consultation with the Stateside pretenders waiting in the wings to take over.
Stewart said: 'So Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe, we've been in really constructive discussions with for several weeks and pre-ownership.
'Naturally, we wanted to make sure that decisions we were making pre-change of ownership would have longevity after the change of ownership, so we've been in really constructive discussions.
'Both have been incredibly supportive and highly engaged throughout the process and involved in the process.
'It's very much a club decision that of course Kevin and myself have been driving it but it's actually been done in sync with Andrew and Paraag.
'Just in terms of how significant a period do I think this is for the club with the new ownership, head coach has just been appointed? I think it clearly is incredibly significant.
'That's two seismic changes, in fact three. If you look at, we've had a change of ownership followed by a sporting director coming in, followed by a head coach being announced. That's an awful lot of activity for one club in one week.
'So I think it does herald a really positive new chapter for the club. I think it is a seismic period for the club and sets a really strong foundation for the future.'
The challenge now for Martin is to overhaul a Celtic side that have won 13 of the last 14 titles - the most recent by a huge 17-point margin.
He only has six weeks now to get his team prepared for the start of the new season but Stewart admits the club are aiming to put up a much better fight in the season ahead.
'Look, I think Russell described it himself,' said the boardroom boss.
'It's first and foremost about taking the current squad that we've got and making it better, then also adding to the squad over the summer and it's about competing again.
'So I think we all accept that last season just past, we were way off and that's not where we want to be, that's not acceptable as a club. So it's about competing again on all fronts and that is the expectation.
'From the outset of taking on this role I've always been confident that we can close any gap that exists within Scotland and I've always been confident we can do that with or without new investment and what the new investment does allow us is to accelerate on the plans, accelerate on the strategy.
'So I've always been confident that we can do that now that we've got new ownership in who are highly engaged, highly committed. We're bringing in new management, we've got Kevin on Monday, Russell on Thursday.
'I think we're in a really, really good position so of course I'm confident and very confident about that.'
Task one for Martin is to get Gers ready for their opening Champions League qualifying tie on July 22/23.
He'll discover whether his first opponent is either Greeks Panathinaikos, Serviette of Switzerland or Norwegian outfit Brann when the draw is made a week on Wednesday.
Get through that tie and there will still be two more eliminators to progress through before the Light Blues reach the league phase.
But Stewart said: 'I think for Rangers, qualifying for the Champions League is always something we would aspire to, always. Now we've got three qualification matches to go through so that is tough for any club, we know that.
'So we're realistic about what's possible, of course with a good run the Champions League is possible, but equally we've been playing in the Europa League successfully and both competitions are strong competitions which we'd be excited to be in.'
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'At a club like Rangers, there's a pressure to win every game, and me being a striker as well, I was realistic enough to know that the chances are going to be thin on the ground. 'To be fair, I also knew in myself that I wasn't good enough at that time to play games for Rangers, and I knew that I had to develop elsewhere. I knew that the Lowland League at the time was not doing anything for my development. 'We were patient, and I got an offer from a massive club, Anderlecht. The minute I got that offer, I knew that's where I wanted to be to continue my journey. 'Going from the fifth league in Scotland to the second league in Belgium was obviously a big jump. I could come into a huge club and train hard in a good team. 'I obviously had my eyes on trying to go to the first team and training there when possible, but of course, I would still be developing at a good level in the second league of Belgium. At the time, it was a really good step for me, and I learned a lot and I improved a lot playing at that level. 'It was just me over there. My family came and visited but it was just me, really. The first couple of months I was getting a bit used to it all, doing everything for myself, which I wasn't used to doing! 'But I became used to it, and I grew as a person. I matured for sure, and I ended up really enjoying it.' He would go on to make his debut for the Anderlecht first team, a fleeting but memorable experience. 'It was short lived, but it was good,' he said. 'I remember coming on at Antwerp and the atmosphere was crazy. I really enjoyed that moment. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) 'I thought it was a reflection of how far I'd come in such a short space of time. To get given that opportunity was great. 'I really enjoyed the minutes that I was on the pitch for.' 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(Image: SNS Group / SFA) 'I think I've become a lot better technically with the ball and I think that's probably thanks to being at a club like Anderlecht, and an academy like Anderlecht where I was training every single day with 16, 17, 18-year-olds that are incredible with the ball. 'I think that I'm a lot stronger. I can use my body a lot better as well than what I could when I was at Rangers, so I do think I'm a totally different player. 'My ambition is just to improve every day and if these things come then that's obviously great. I'm a young player and my full focus is on Sirius and trying to help them, and trying to make sure that I'm improving myself as a player, but also as a team, and scoring and assisting as much as possible. 'It would be obviously great to catch the eye of Steve Clarke, but as I say, if that came it would be great. 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