Inside James Bisgrove's Rangers CEO exit and Saudi deal

Rangers confirmed on Thursday evening that Bisgrove, the chief executive officer, would depart the club to take up a position in the Middle East. The following morning, he was still working through a to-do list to ensure he leaves Rangers in as healthy a state as possible. Bisgrove will be on the move sooner rather than later, though, as he prepares for a new chapter in a career that has seen him hold posts with Betfair, Emirates Airline and UEFA. The Rangers Review revealed that a six-figure compensation package will be sought to allow Bisgrove to head to Saudi Arabia and it is expected that an agreement will be reached in a matter of weeks.

READ MORE: Check all the Rangers transfer news & rumours before the transfer window

A new stadium, which will be built in time for the World Cup in 2034, will be one of the main items for Bisgrove to work towards and the budget available to him for recruitment will naturally dwarf what he had to play with at Ibrox. There will surely be regret that his final days at Rangers did not coincide with celebrations for a Premiership title or Scottish Cup success.

READ MORE: Rangers set Saudi Arabia compensation demand ahead of James Bisgrove Ibrox exit

Amid all the comment and conjecture about high-profile departures from Ibrox this summer, Bisgrove was not on the agenda and was not considering his own future. Just 12 months into his role, he was preparing for his second transfer window and had recently moved into a new property in Glasgow, the city that has been his home for the last five years. The boxes that have been unpacked will have to be loaded up again as he jets off to the Saudi Pro League.

The timing of his departure has come as a surprise but the fact that he has moved on is not a shock to most observers. It is understood there was Premier League interest in him before he succeeded Stewart Robertson last term and a move to England seemed a natural fit, albeit more likely in the seasons to come.

Towards the end of the campaign, Bisgrove was approached by a head-hunter to discuss a Saudi switch. At the start of the week, he had the difficult discussion with John Bennett to confirm his intention to leave. The relationship between the pair has been, and remains, strong and there is recognition on both sides that the offer was too good to turn down.

“I would like to thank James for the work he has done at the club over the last five years as Commercial and Marketing Director, and latterly, as our CEO," Bennett said in a statement. “Our commercial revenues grew significantly under James’ leadership, while in the last year, he was an integral part of the off-field restructuring the club has implemented.

“The executive team James helped shape has firmly established itself and I fully expect its momentum to be uninterrupted. We wish James every success with his new role.”

Bennett will assume the role of executive chairman in the interim basis. The switch is a housekeeping exercise in many respects given that Bennett has been hands-on at Ibrox long before events of this week. Bennett has recently retired from his role with Janus Henderson, global asset management group, and will now devote even more time and effort to Rangers as he guides the executive and the board through the transfer window in football and financial terms.

Bisgrove’s departure and the future for Rangers was discussed at a board meeting on Wednesday. The search for a replacement will commence in due course, but filling that berth is not as important as work that must be undertaken to provide Philippe Clement with the right players to win titles and trophies going forward. The lines of communication between Clement and Bennett are always open and the chairman will now be the first point of contact for Nils Koppen, the director of football recruitment, as the board prepare to spend in the market once again.

Supporters may be concerned about the loss of key member of staff leading into such a defining and detailed period but Bisgrove cannot be replaced within a matter of days. Many of the potential candidates will have their own notices to serve and it will be months rather than weeks before a new chief executive is in situ. Bennett is the continuity for the football department and influential operators behind the scenes such as James Taylor, the chief finance officer, and chief commercial officer Karim Virani. Creag Robertson, the director of football operations, also remains in place after being promoted during an Ibrox overhaul last summer.

READ MORE: The inside story of John Bennett's rise: From Glasgow investor to Rangers chairman

Lessons have been learned from the mistakes that were made. It is understood that Bennett spoke with more than 20 members of staff, below executive level, during a four-day trip to Glasgow a fortnight ago to gauge the morale and to reaffirm the drive for efficiencies and improvements at all levels, in both sporting and business senses.

Bennett spoke at the Annual General Meeting six months ago about a £10.5million operating loss. That deficit, reported in the figures to the year end June 30, is unsustainable for investors and Bennett has focused heavily on reducing the financial wastage that he has uncovered since succeeding Douglas Park as chairman.

“This club last year lost £10.5million, pre-player trading," Bennett said as he allayed fears from the floor about Rangers finances. “I would ask you please to keep your eye on that £10.5million. It has to go away. This is a new executive team for a reason and it is tasked with not only growing the club, but driving through operating efficiencies. It is a cultural change and it is under way.

“That £10.5million has to become, at worst, zero. Not every club operates at that level, in other words at minimum break-even prior to player trading. They need player trading to have a model. We want to take Rangers to a place where it breaks even or better. I can tell you right now, every day it’s turning – and it will turn.”

Bisgrove was the only survivor in the Ibrox cull last summer as Robertson left the club weeks after Ross Wilson joined Nottingham Forest. Andrew Dickson and Kenny Barclay also departed as Bennett kicked the tyres and had a look under the bonnet to see what was going on for himself. His tenure as chairman will be defined by silverware, but a hand-me-down of financial sustainability would be a long-lasting legacy for a man that has put considerable sums into his boyhood club. An Ibrox source has stated that progress on that front has been positive and it is felt that there is no need to cause uncertainty at executive level by rushing to appoint a CEO that will naturally have his own blueprint in terms of personnel and principles.

The timing of Bisgrove’s exit is not perfect for Rangers. It could be said, though, that there is never a good moment to lose such a figure, especially when the relationship between chief executive and chairman was as strong. The position will not be filled straight away, but the workload will be transferred now that Bennett has the executive title to go with the executive duties he has been undertaking.

In an exclusive interview with the Rangers Review in April, former chairman Dave King spoke of his ‘comfort’ at having Bennett and Bisgrove overseeing Rangers following Park’s resignation and a restructuring that one source described as a ‘whirlwind’. King spoke of Bennett’s business acumen that had his full faith and why Bisgrove was ‘one of the smartest young guys out there’. Bisgrove is no longer part of the team, but Bennett will demand that his departure does not result in stagnation or loss of momentum at a time when Rangers need to take strides in the right direction.

The coming weeks will shape Rangers’ fortunes and determine if Bennett’s efforts have been worthwhile. Rangers must be ruthless in terms of the clear out and smart when it comes to the acquisitions. Clement labelled this window as the end of a cycle and it must act as the beginning of a new era at Ibrox.

READ MORE: Clement makes Rangers rebuild admission and outlines summer challenge

That was evident long before the Premiership title slipped through Clement’s grasp and the Scottish Cup was snatched away by Celtic. Delivering on the transfer blueprint remains the priority and supporters expect moves to be made with speed and sense as the football board work through the to-do list.

As always, there will be a focus on what Rangers spend. It should, though, be on how Rangers utilise the budget rather than the quantum of it. Clement is the third manager to see millions of pounds eaten up by players who are not fit to play and that situation needs addressed as a matter of urgency. The wastefulness in a business sense is a different conversation and a different problem, but it is no less imperative to rectify if Rangers are to thrive on and off the pitch. 

The change required is collective and cultural. If Bennett can improve the communication and take people out of their comfort zone, the foundations will be in place for the future. Doing things because that is the way they have always been done is not productive or proper and the manner in which the axe was wielded in the corridors of power last summer could now be replicated in the dressing room.

Bisgrove was due to be Bennett’s right hand man during the next phase of that modernisation and progression. Instead, the chairman will take all of the responsibility for it in his own grasp. For now at least, he is the man doing the deals at Ibrox.