Ex Everton + Tottenham man set to play 'major role' in Rangers future as billionaire's right hand man unmasked

A former Everton and Tottenham powerbroker is set to become a key face in the upcoming Rangers revolution.

The Ibrox club are heading for a takeover spearheaded by NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers’ Enterprise wing and US billionaire Andrew Cavenagh. Accompanying the latter at recent Rangers games has been Gretar Steinsson who according to the Daily Record “looks certain to have a major role to play in the club’s future.”

He has previously been performance director at Tottenham and head of recruitment with Everton, now Leeds United’s technical director. The report adds “Steinsson appears to be a key figure alongside Cavenagh as the American edges closer to taking control at Ibrox” as he turns the billionaire’s right hand Rangers man.

Rocking the Rangers boat

Steinsson featured in the UK as a player at Bolton and his first non playing gig was at Fleetwood Town. Barry Nicholson, who started his career at Rangers, watching his time at Fleetwood unfold first hand as the club’s development manager at the time and insists that whatever role Steinsson takes up, he’ll be happy to make tough calls.

He said: “One thing about Gretar is, he wouldn’t be fazed going in to work at a club like Rangers. I think he was like that as well as a player, tough and uncompromising. I actually remember playing against him down here when he was at Bolton. At Fleetwood, he wasn’t shy of making big decisions.

“In that type of role, you’ve got to be like that and he certainly was during that time. It might upset people but that won’t bother him. He’d go into Rangers with big ideas and I don’t think he’ll be frightened to rock the boat a bit. He won’t be scared of making big calls. He will definitely be no-nonsense. Gretar has worked with some top managers already, at Fleetwood firstly then obviously in his time at Everton, Spurs and Leeds.

“I imagine that he’ll be good at presenting in front of people with his ideas and vision. That’s what owners want, especially the Americans. Gretar is very big on working in the club’s academy. He wants good young players at the club. At Fleetwood the academy was only just up and running when he arrived. But he was huge in getting it up to the required standard and through the grading system in England. He had a massive part in that.

“And eventually at Fleetwood, there was a big push for academy players to play in the first team. A few of them have gone on to do well. James Hill was sold to Bournemouth for £1m. Josh Feeney went to Aston Villa and Jay Matete went to Sunderland. So in the last few years Fleetwood have seen the fruits of it and made a bit of money from transfers. If Gretar is going to have anything to do with that side of things at Rangers, that will be his aim. Whether you get on with him or not, he’s the type of guy who knows what he wants. He’s not afraid to make a difference.

“Since Fleetwood, he has been employed by some massive clubs and held important positions. And it sounds like the consortium who are looking to take over Rangers have identified him as the guy to lead the football side of things. He’d be someone who would certainly go in with big plans. And I think Rangers have been crying out for that.

“There aren’t enough young boys coming through at Rangers and that has to change. There should be a conveyor belt of talent – or certainly more than there has been recently at Ibrox. “Rangers have to get these young players into the team and then make the club money. Or make them mainstays in the team like the current manager Barry Ferguson was. Rangers have said for years now, that’s the model they want to have. It’s tough. But if Gretar has been hands-on with that stuff at his previous clubs, he could be a good addition for the club.”