High profile candidate interested in holding Rangers CEO talks after Gillespie negotiations collapse

Rangers’ chief executive vacancy remains open following the collapse of talks with St Mirren vice-chairman Jim Gillespie, however one high-profile Englishman is keen on the job. It is understood that Adrian Bevington, the former England Football Association chief, is interested in holding talks with the Ibrox hierarchy.

Bevington first joined the English FA in a communications role in 1997 and became the organisation’s managing director between 2010 and 2015. He worked with England national team managers Howard Wilkinson, Peter Taylor, Kevin Keegan, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson. He also worked as head of recruitment at Middlesbrough and as a consultant with Aston Villa. Most recently, he was a non-executive director at Hartlepool United.

Rangers are looking to replace their departed chief executive James Bisgrove following his move to the Saudi Pro League club Al Qadsiah. Gillespie withdrew from negotiations on Tuesday night, leaving the Ibrox board to look at other candidates. They are aware of Bevington and also still hold an interest in the Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay.

He has taken on a more prominent role at Tynecastle Park in recent years as chairwoman Ann Budge reduced her daily responsibilities. Appointed by Budge in August 2020, McKinlay was named SPFL chief executive of the year in May this year. He previously won the award in 2022 having overseen a period of growth on and off the field at Hearts.

The Edinburgh club are keen to keep hold of McKinlay and would not welcome any approach from Rangers. So far, there has been no official contact between the clubs regarding the former Scottish Football Association director. The Ibrox chairman John Bennett faces a decision on his next move as fans demand changed leadership at the top and improved performance on the field.

Bevington’s interest in holding a conversation with Rangers ironically comes after he was previously in contention for the sporting director position with Hearts. He and David Weir were among the candidates before Budge appointed Joe Savage in December 2020.