Frontrunner out after advanced talks as Rangers top job appointment collapses - report

Rangers will not be appointing the frontrunner for their vacant CEO position despite reaching an advanced stage of talks, the Daily Mail reports.

According to the paper’s website on 10 September St Mirren vice-chair Jim Gillespie is dropping out of the race to take the place of James Bisgrove in the top job at Ibrox, after the latter “stunned” the Light Blues by leaving for Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League earlier this year.

John Bennett is now set to continue the search for a successor after “the trail cooled” on lifelong Gers fan Gillespie, who was the leading candidate until as recently as a week ago.

Discussions were advanced with the 46-year-old but he is now not expected to head to Glasgow.

St Mirren vice-chairman out of Rangers CEO race

The chaos that has characterised the summer at Ibrox has been linked to Bisgrove’s sudden exit, with the stadium building works debacle emerging soon after he left.

Ibrox News pundit Derek Ferguson suggested the former Gers chief bolted before that nightmare arrived, and with Philippe Clement’s side only set to return home from Hampden Park later this month [Sky Sports, 4 September] Bennett’s attentions have been taken away from the CEO search.

Reaction to the pursuit of Gillespie has less than glowing from the Gers fanbase [Heart & Hand, 10 September] but it is another chase that has ended in failure after enough of them during the transfer window.

And as the search goes on it is symptomatic of a club in disarray with the summer squad overhaul underwhelming, the title race looking half-lost already after a 3-0 hammering at Celtic, and a captain whose time at the club is in the balance in the wake of that game.

James Tavernier has been linked to an exit to Turkey or Qatar before their respective transfer windows shut after being abused outside Ibrox following the Old Firm derby [HITC, 6 September].

If he does go he will be leaving a side that continues to have a vacancy in the top job as well as key roles unfilled elsewhere, such as academy head in the wake of Zeb Jacobs’ exit after a single season.

There are fears of disharmony in the dressing room under Clement at present, with something off at Ibrox on so many levels and drastic improvement needed fast.

In other Rangers news, a major transfer race is now lined up for January after an update at Ibrox.

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