Andrew Cavenagh's stewardship of Rangers has been beyond calamitous so far ... but the American CAN still turn things around

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Say this much for Andrew Cavenagh. Nobody could ever describe him as an absent landlord. Nor could he ever be accused of hiding when the bullets are flying.

Since completing his takeover of Rangers along with 49ers Enterprises, the American has been nothing if not visible and keen to engage.

He has already demonstrated a willingness to face questions. For the most part, he has carried himself well. He is articulate and, by and large, most of what he says makes perfect sense.

He has spoken about a desire for Rangers to modernise themselves as a club, to be progressive and forward-thinking, and to have all areas of the business aligned with each other.

He has also held up his hands and admitted to mistakes that have been made - and it’s for precisely that reason he continues to find himself fronting up in press conferences.

Had the US owners not made such a mess of things after taking charge in the summer, we probably wouldn’t have heard much from Cavenagh.

Cavenagh, above, popped up again this week to announce that Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart had been sacked

Thelwell, far left, and Stewart, far right, joined Cavenagh at Danny Rohl's unveiling, but the pair are no longer part of the picture at Ibrox

He would have spoken once the takeover was ratified and then at the unveiling of Russell Martin. That would have been all. But we’ve heard from him umpteen times since then.

The latest statement and series of interviews this week were to confirm that Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart had been sacked from their roles as sporting director and chief executive respectively.

Given the disastrous start to the season, Stewart was always likely to be offered up as a sacrificial lamb. Fans wanted blood and he was an easy target given that the Americans inherited him from the previous regime.

As for Thelwell? His whole tenure and eventual sacking sits alongside that of Martin as another major black mark on Cavenagh’s copybook.

It was only a few weeks ago, when Danny Rohl was unveiled as the new head coach, that Cavenagh offered his full support to the sporting director.

What’s changed since then? Rangers have won four league games on the bounce during that period. They are, incredibly, still in a title race.

How can Cavenagh flip-flop from backing Thelwell to binning him only a few weeks later? Not that he should have been kept on. Far from it.

Russell Martin was a disaster as Rangers boss, and now Stewart and Thelwell have joined him in going through the exit door

Instead, he should have been punted along with Martin. It was plainly obvious that he had squandered the best part of £30million during the summer transfer window.

In the club statement that confirmed the departures on Monday, Cavenagh spoke of how Rangers’ needs are different now than they were six months ago when Thelwell arrived.

That is true. The squad is now lumbered with inadequate players, many of whom were signed on long-term contracts and for big money.

It’s in need of open-heart surgery - and all because Thelwell was given free rein to sign all of these duds in the summer.

When you consider the appointment of Martin, the appointment of Thelwell, the botched recruitment process to secure a new head coach - Cavenagh has to take responsibility.

For all he might come across well and say the right things, his record so far is deeply unimpressive. He has got most of the big decisions wrong.

The most damaging of all early mistakes was the botched handling of the managerial position. Martin’s disastrous appointment - a decision Cavenagh later admitted was wrong - should have sparked a decisive and professional reset.

Instead, the recruitment process descended into a farce. Rangers bounced from one candidate to another with all the composure of the organisers of a pub raffle.

Big names were briefed to the media, only for the club to backtrack. Approaches were made, withdrawn, then revived.

Angry Rangers supporters had long been campaigning for Thelwell and Stewart to go

At one point it felt like every manager this side of the moon had either been linked to or ruled out of the job within 48 chaotic hours.

Supporters who had been promised efficiency saw instead a circus. Cavenagh’s insistence that the process was handled diligently and professionally simply did not match the optics.

It looked messy, desperate and fundamentally amateurish - the very opposite of the modern, data-driven, composed leadership he had vowed to deliver.

Even the eventual appointment of Rohl, though not without merit, carried the unmistakable scent of compromise given the club had been all in on Steven Gerrard and then Kevin Muscat.

A club of Rangers’ size should never appear to be scrambling around in a state of panic. Yet scrambling is exactly what they appeared to be.

There is also a feeling here that the damage has already been done. Thelwell had been allowed to build his own little empire behind the scenes.

He brought in his son, Robbie, as Rangers’ head of recruitment. Technical director Dan Purdy and chief scout Nathan Fisher were also close allies.

As things stand, these guys will be allowed to continue in post. How can that be right? They were all part of Thelwell’s clique.

They should all be moved on, otherwise it won’t really be a fresh start.

Kevin Thelwell had been allowed to build his own empire behind the scenes at Ibrox

Cavenagh has repeatedly emphasised the importance of accountability. The problem is not his willingness to acknowledge mistakes - it is that the mistakes are happening with alarming frequency.

It is still early days and no one can completely write off a regime within months. But first impressions matter - and Cavenagh’s first impressions in terms of the big decisions have not been impressive.

The new era under the Americans was supposed to be bold, dynamic and transformative. Cavenagh still has time to deliver that.

But he must now prove he truly understands the club he has taken charge of. He misjudged Rangers and under-estimated Scottish football with the appointments of Martin and Thelwell.

Rohl looks like an upgrade and a step in the right direction. The quality of whoever joins him as sporting director will go a long way to determining how quickly Rangers can move forward.

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