Kevin Thelwell shares Rangers bonus that comes with new Ibrox signing as he solves lingering worry
Rangers made a deadline day signing in the defensive area of the pitch.
Kevin Thelwell says a deadline day signing at Rangers helps ease a lingering worry - in another department from which he plays.
Derek Cornelius signed on a season-long loan from Marseille this week, the Canadian international bringing experience at centre-back. With the window shut, some have concerns for the left-back role, with inexperienced Brentford loanee Jayden Meghoma the only senior option there after Jefte, Ridvan Yilmaz and Robbie Fraser’s respective exits in the summer.
While there are others who can step into that key position, sporting director Thelwell has revealed it will likely be Cornelius who steps out his comfort zone to cover Meghoma when needed. He told Rangers TV: “I'd say first and foremost, very happy with the way in which Jayden started life as a Rangers player. I think he's been very good in a lot of his performances and also a lot to come.
Who will provide Rangers left-back cover
“I'd also say that this is a position that we talked about many, many times over the course of the window internally to make sure that we have got the right strength and depth. And probably one of the reasons that we brought Derek Cornelius to the football club was to support in that area.
“So over the course of Derek's career, he's played at left-sided centre-back primarily, but he's also played left-sided in a three and he's also played at left-back. So our expectation is that if we do have a problem in that area, then Derek would be able to support us. I also think there's other possibilities within the squad. Dio's obviously played there over the course of time on occasion. Dujon's obviously played there. And of course, Tav and also Max have shown the capability to play and switch from the right to the left. So within the group, we've got lots of solutions if we do have a problem.”
New head coach Russell Martin is already under pressure with three wins from 11 games but he has the backing of Thelwell. The sporting director added: “I'm looking at the people that I have worked with over the course of time, some very, very good managers, some very good head coaches, and I'm looking at what Russell's delivering on a day to day basis. And it's of a very high standard.
Kevin Thelwell on Russell Martin
“I think we've got a clear message in terms of what we want to try to achieve. And that hasn't changed from the first moment that we were both appointed, effectively, which is we want an aggressive team. We want a team that has a higher level of intensity. We want the fan base to be proud of a team that holds and has similar values, honesty, hard work, respect, humility out on the pitch.
“I think we've seen glimpses of that. I don't think we've quite put together a body of work that says we've seen that consistently, but I don't necessarily think that's down to one point. And we've already talked about the consequence of change.
“But I am very confident that that will come in due course based on what I see on a day to day basis, which is a coach and a group of coaches that are working very, very hard in terms of delivering very strong messages, very strong coaching sessions, very strong support for players to hopefully get everybody to understand exactly what is required on the pitch and then go out and do it. I understand we've got to do it. And so hopefully when we get back to the Hearts game and the games going forwards, we'll see a bit more of what we saw in the Old Firm.”