Stewart aims to get Rangers where they 'want to be'

Rangers have a new CEO and chairman in place

New Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart says the club are not where they "want to be" but are building from "strong foundations".

Stewart, who held various roles at Manchester United as part of his quarter century in football, started on Monday.

Philippe Clement's team, who have won their past three league games, are third in the Premiership - two points behind Aberdeen, who have played a game more. Celtic are nine points clear of the Dons.

Rangers are eighth in the Europa League with two league-phase games to play.

The club announced a £17.2m loss for the year to June, despite revenue of £88.3m.

"There's been a lot for us to be cautiously optimistic about in recent weeks," Stewart said.

"There's been no secret that on the park, we're not where we want to be in terms of trophies.

"Off the park, the AGM results were there for everyone to see. Sometimes the wider perception for Rangers hasn't been where we want it to be so there are challenges there.

"But equally, we've got some really strong foundations to build from."

Waiting for SFA response on cup final call

Stewart said the men's team had been "turning around the season" and shown "real progress" after being nine points behind Aberdeen at one stage.

"The signings that we made in the summer are starting to really bed in and play with a degree of confidence," Stewart added on the club's media outlets.

"In fairness to Philippe, he said it would always take time."

Jo Potter's women's side are second in the SWPL, two points off Glasgow City and Stewart praised their consistency and said they were "right up there challenging for the league title".

Fraser Thornton also started on Monday and Stewart said the non-executive chairman would be "one step removed" from his own role, explaining: "Day to day, I'm going to be in the club, running the club, looking after the operational matters.

Stewart also revealed he was awaiting a response from the Scottish FA over the decision not to award a penalty in extra-time of Rangers' Premier Sports Cup final defeat to Celtic on Sunday.

Clement was aggrieved his side were not given a spot-kick in extra-time when Liam Scales tugged Vaclav Cerny. A free-kick on the edge of the box was given instead, with Scales booked.

"The manner which we lost was hard to take and, as I think people will know, I have spoken with the SFA to ask for an explanation about the non-awarding of a penalty in extra-time," said Stewart.

"I will wait to hear what the SFA have to say about that."