Ex Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan joked that having a background Manchester United doesn’t necessarily make new Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart a good appointment.
The Aberdeen-born ex Red Devils supremo spent almost two decades in various roles at Old Trafford before he recently left the English Premier League giants.
Former lawyer Stewart first joined United as General Counsel and Company Secretary and had a stint as interim chief executive, a permanent position he will take up at Rangers when he starts his work at Ibrox on December 16.
The fact one of Britain’s biggest clubs is on his CV makes him seem like a coup but in recent years Manchester United, similar to Rangers lately, have been shambolic in terms of the running of the club and a far cry from the dominant days under Sir Alex Ferguson and ex chairman Martin Edwards and chief executive David Gill.
Stewart will have to deal with current boss Philippe Clement’s position as the Belgian comes under increasing pressure as they trial Celtic by 11 points the Scottish Premiership table – and talkSPORT host Jim White reckons if they are still behind Aberdeen when we enter 2025 then the boss could be for the off.
Speaking on the radio station’s lunchtime show, White said of Stewart’s appointment: “He’s been at Manchester United a long time, interim chief executive, but they had do something didn’t they?, before adding: “Why are you screwing your face up?”
Jordan said: “Well I’m screwing up face because I don’t really think Manchester United are the blueprint for successful off-field activity, do you? It might be better than nothing.”
White added: “Exactly. No chairman. An interim chairman in John Gilligan, a man I know well and a lovely fella. Now, for real, they have a chief executive. It’s my understanding that Stewart is regarded a a guy who has vast experience with one particular club and that club is Manchester United. He’s a strong character, Scottish and this is a very exciting appointment. But they’ve left it long enough – you’ve got to have someone behind the scenes to make the right decisions.”
Jordan said: “You do. How that all affects the material opportunity on the field is a different discussion.
“Whether that bodes well for the incumbent manager, who seems to be going through a particularly torrid time at this moment in time, we’ll see. But it certainly alleviates the observations that they’re rudderless. Whether he’s a good oarsman, we’ll see.”
White said: “Clement stays in a job despite the disappointing draw with Dundee United at the weekend and there is some distance between Rangers and Aberdeen, who are in second, and even more distance between Rangers and Celtic who are top. If Aberdeen are in-between the two of them come the turn of the year I detect that’s when life might get a bit more hot under the collar for Clement.”