Kevin Thelwell reveals whopping Rangers net transfer spend as he defends loan strategy with a caveat

Kevin Thelwell reveals whopping Rangers net transfer spend as he defends loan strategy with a caveat

The Ibrox sporting director lifted the lid on a hectic summer of change in a wide-ranging interview

Rangers' squad underwent another overhaul (Image: SNS Group)

It says a lot about the remarkable state Rangers have got themselves in this season that Kevin Thelwell watched Sunday’s drab draw with Celtic and saw a team taking a step forward.

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The grim goalless stalemate was hardly a demonstration of all the pretty things promised to the Ibrox faithful when Thelwell used his first act as Ibrox sporting director to name Russell Martin manager.

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But then, at the very least it wasn’t a repeat of the chaotic stumbles that have seen Rangers repeatedly fall flat on their backsides this season.

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Four straight draws means Martin has presided over the club’s worst league start since 1983.

That would have been bad enough for a support who had whipped themselves into an excited frenzy following the club’s summer takeover.

But the humiliating, mortifying sight of the Light Blues shipping six goals in a record-equalling hammering from Champions League playoff opponents Club Brugge was the final straw for many supporters.

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Barely 90 days on from his appointment, they’ve seen enough and want Thelwell and the club's new US owners to pull the plug on the Martin experiment.

For now, though, the Ibrox recruitment chief and his Stateside bosses remain committed to the former Southampton gaffer.

How long that stays the same will depend very much on results - but Thelwell admits the players he and Martin have brought to the club can play their part … by continuing to put one foot in front of the other.

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“Well, first and foremost, I'd say that was a good performance,” said Thelwell as he reflected on the derby draw. “I don't necessarily think it was a great performance, but without question, that certainly was a performance that was heading in the right direction.

“What we need to do going forward is deliver the result in the first instance.

Kevin Thelwell and Russell Martin (Image: SNS Group)

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"I understand that a draw is not what we're aiming for here.

“We need to win those games going forward. But what we did see is a lot of the values I think the fanbase would epitomise as being important for the team - honesty, hard work, respect, humility, aggression, intensity.

“That really has to be a basic fundamental for performances going forwards.

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“This group of players have shown that they can deliver that. Now they must hold themselves to account and we must hold them to account to deliver that every time they step over that white line.”

Martin has only had 11 games so far to show the Rangers faithful what he’s all about.

But that’s been plenty for a growing majority.

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Three wins, one goal from open play in the Premiership, over 150 shots allowed on Jack Butland’s goal. The stats don’t suggest a turning point is close.

But Thelwell still retains hope that Martin is the man.

He said: “I think we've seen glimpses. I don't think we've quite put together a body of work that says we've seen that consistently, but we've already talked about the consequences of change.

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“I’m very confident that that will come in due course based on what I see day to day - a coach working very hard delivering very strong messages, very strong coaching sessions, very strong support for players to get everybody to understand exactly what’s required on the pitch.

“Hopefully when we get back to the Hearts game, we'll see a bit more of what we saw in the Old Firm.”

As the man who led the headhunting process, Thelwell now finds himself as much in the firing line as the man he appointed.

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The former Everton director of football has sanctioned a spend of around £35million so far.

Youssef Chermiti is unveiled by Rangers

But there have been complaints over the number of loan recruits brought in, the lack of cover at left-back and the focus on signing players from the over-inflated English market - most notably the £8million deadline day swoop for Youssef Chermiti.

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The fact it was Thelwell himself who gave the go ahead for his former Goodison employers to sign the Portuguese frontman for £12million from Sporting Lisbon in 2023 has raised eyebrows further.

But the new Gers chief is confident this summer’s transfer activity will pay dividends in the long run.

“First and foremost, I'm pleased with the business we've done,” he said. “We’ve got a nice balance within the group - some young and hungry players that can help us now, but can also develop and stay with us for a longer period.

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"And we've brought in some senior players that should also help the group chemistry.

“In my view, we've improved across all parts of the team.

“And now it's about creating a winning side that Rangers fans can be proud of.

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“Andrew Cavenagh and the ownership have been very supportive. It's circa a £20million net spend, which is a big number in our context. It sends a clear message - we want to build a stronger team and ownership are committed to doing that.”

Max Aarons, Nasser Djiga, Mikey Moore, Jayden Meghoma and Derek Cornelius have all arrived on loan — but Thelwell defended that part of his recruitment strategy: “When you're making so much change, you can't buy everybody because you'll run out of money very quickly.

“It’s not a bad strategy to say, ‘OK, we're going to loan with option’ because effectively you're trying before you buy. That seems sensible.

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“There are some players we brought in that we haven't got options on, which isn’t my preferred space at all.

"But in reality, it gives you an opportunity to access players that normally you wouldn't be able to access.”

Defending his raids south of the border, he told RangersTV: “I was appointed on June 1, so clearly the role was about hitting the ground running.

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“It made perfect sense to say, ‘OK well, which is the market that Dan Purdy (technical director) and I know better than any other market?’

“There are some very good players in that market, a lot of players we have high-level knowledge of and therefore, potentially less risk in signing.

“But going forwards, we'll see us also looking at markets further afield and taking up good opportunities there.”

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Jayden Meghoma (Image: SNS Group)

Meanwhile, Thelwell insists he has no concern about Rangers' lack of left-back cover.

Gers have raked in £8million this summer by selling Brazilian stopper Jefte and Turkish international Ridvan Yilmaz back to their homelands.

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Meghoma has arrived on loan from Brentford but the 19-year-old is the only natural left-back in Russell Martin’s first team.

But Thelwell insists new centre-back signing Cornelius - a deadline day recruit from Marseille - can step in if needed.

He said: “We’re very happy with the way in which Jayden started life as a Rangers player.

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"He's been very good in a lot of his performances and there’s a lot to come.

“Left-back is a position that we talked about many, many times over the course of the window internally to make sure that we have got the right strength and depth.

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“And it’s probably one of the reasons that we brought Derek Cornelius to the football club, to support in that area.

"Over the course of Derek's career, he's played at left-sided centre-back primarily, but he's also played left-sided in a three and he's also played at left-back.

“So our expectation is that if we do have a problem in that area, Derek would be able to support us.

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“I also think there's other possibilities within the squad.

"Mohamed Diomande has obviously played there on occasion. Dujon Sterling has played there. And of course, James Tavernier and Max Aarons have shown the capability to play and switch from the right to the left.

“So within the group, we've got lots of solutions if we do have a problem."

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