A FORMER Manchester United executive who worked closely with Patrick Stewart during his time at Old Trafford has applauded Rangers’ appointment of the “heavyweight” Scot as CEO and provided an insight into the qualities and experience he will bring to the high-profile role.
The Ibrox club, who last month announced they had made a loss of £17.2m in the last financial year and who are currently 11 points behind leaders Celtic in the William Hill Premiership, confirmed on Monday that Stewart is being brought in as a full-time replacement for James Bisgrove.
Aberdeen native Stewart spent 18 years at English giants United and had a spell as their interim chief executive until he stood down back in April when the INEOS conglomerate headed by billionaire businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over from The Glazer Family as major shareholders.
The ex-United executive – who is currently employed by another Premier League club and asked not to be named – believes bringing Stewart in is an inspired move by Rangers and predicted the new man at the helm will be well placed to cope with the unique demands of his position after he starts on December 16.
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“I think it's a really good appointment,” he said. “When I saw the announcement, I thought, ‘That makes a lot of sense’. Patrick has worked for a club where there is a lot of scrutiny and a lot of intensity for a long time.
“There are only so many clubs like that in the game. Yes, Manchester United are operating on a global scale. But the pressure at Rangers and in Glasgow is every bit as intense. On that side of things, Patrick will get it, he will understand the standards required.
“United might not have been as successful in recent years as they were in the past. But the size of the club is still vast and the scrutiny they are under from fans and the media is incredible. There were still four times more stories written about Manchester United than Manchester City at a time when City were the best team in the world.
“But the interesting thing for me is Patrick is quite low ego. He was very easy to deal with. I know the staff at Rangers will like him. I think he'll pull the staff together. Sometimes at that top of a big organisation you get individuals who are very charismatic, but who sometimes have a very high opinion of themselves.
“But Patrick isn’t like that at all. He is quite low key and low ego. He will be good for stability. He is a good leader, but he leads in a quieter way. It won't be all flashy headlines with him. He has a legal background and is very diligent. Things will be structured, he will want to collaborate with people.
“I really enjoyed my time at United. The people were great, very personable, very supportive. It was not, as people looking in from the outside might think, this big corporate machine at all.
“He was operating at a senior level at that time. He is quite understated. He is not somebody who is all show. You need substance for that position and he has that in abundance. I think he will quietly go about his business.”
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He continued: “I was at United during the Covid pandemic. There were a lot of legal issues around that. But the club handled that whole situation very well. People were well looked after. There was a considered, caring approach. Patrick was right at the top of the club at the time and was informing all those decisions.
“Whenever you met him he was down to earth. It was just like dealing with any other colleague. Don’t get me wrong, he is very sharp. You had to be on your toes, you had to know what you were talking about and doing. But there was never any sense of ‘I’d better not voice an opinion here because he’s the CEO’. I really liked dealing with him.
“You're across all issues, whether it's financial, player related, commercial. He has dealt with the legal aspects of all those areas. He certainly knows player contracts, how that world operates as well, which is going to be important at Rangers. On top of all that, he knows Glasgow and knows Scottish football as well. He is plugged in to what is going on.”
Stewart, who studied law at the University of Glasgow and worked in his homeland with legal firms Burness and then Maclay, Murray and Spens, has also held positions at the Football Association, Premier League and European Club Association and has been an arbiter with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The former United executive added: “Patrick represented Manchester United at a number of European Club Association forms. He also worked for the legal department at TEAM Marketing, when they were doing all of the UEFA broadcasting and commercial deals for the Champions League and Europa League.
“He will have been involved in a lot of key decisions in those areas at Manchester United as well obviously. But he is certainly held in a high regard in the European game and is well connected there. He knows that political world, understands UEFA and the ECA for sure, and will be able to ensure Rangers’ best interests are looked after in Europe as well.
“As I say, his appointment makes perfect sense to me. When I saw the announcement I thought, ‘Yeah, that is exactly what Rangers need right now’.”
