New Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart has revealed he had "goosebumps" walking into Ibrox for the first time.
The former Manchester United chief has explained nothing in his 25 years in the football industry could have prepared him for the moment of entering the Bill Struth Main Stand for the first time.
Stewart officially began as Rangers chief executive on Monday - where his first duty was contacting the Scottish FA to demand an explanation over the failure to award Rangers a penalty against Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final.
🎙️ New Chief Executive Officer Patrick Stewart sat down with RangersTV to discuss his role with the club. pic.twitter.com/eNFuWI4F6M
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) December 17, 2024
Despite the inevitable disappointment over the result at Hampden, Stewart has admitted he is "incredibly excited" to dive into his role at Ibrox in the coming weeks.
“It is a huge honour," he said of becoming Rangers CEO. "I have been working in football for 25 years and I have been fortunate to walk into Old Trafford for 18 of those years.
"But the goosebumps I felt when I walked into the Bill Struth Main Stand for the first time was unlike anything I have ever experienced.
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"You can feel the heritage and when you combine that with the club’s amazing fanbase, the iconic stadium, I’m incredibly excited.
"Obviously it is somewhat bittersweet. Yesterday was my first day and we were licking our wounds from Sunday. It was disappointing in the manner of the defeat, but we can take a huge amount from it.
"There is a lot to be optimistic about, but yesterday was bittersweet. I was really excited to start the role, but I was disappointed it wasn’t with a trophy in the cabinet.”
On where Rangers stand in a footballing sense currently, he added: “There has been a lot for us to be cautiously optimistic about in recent weeks.
"I know the signings we made in the summer are starting to really bed in and play with a degree of confidence. In fairness to Philippe, he always said it would take time. You always say ‘when will that time come?’ and we have seen that in the last few weeks.
"We can’t forget the women’s team who have had a consistent season so far and Sunday was an anomaly, but I am positive with the work Jo [Potter] and Donald [Gillies] are doing there.”
