What did we learn from Danny Ruhl’s first press conference with Rangers?

There were a lot of questions from Thelwell’s media package.

Much has been made of the appointment of his son Robbie as head of recruitment, with fans not convinced he is qualified for the role.

However, he defended and explained the decision to bring Thelwell Jnr to Ibrox.

“It’s always uncomfortable to hear that, and I think visually we all agreed when we made that move to hire Robbie that he would be looked at a certain way,” Thelwell said.

“The reality of the situation is that we want to bring the best talent here to Rangers.

“My view on Robbie’s career and his situation is that he didn’t need my help with football.

“He worked at Aston Villa as a senior scout, then moved to Norwich City as chief scout and was then promoted to player pathways director.

“Before we signed him, two Premier League clubs wanted to sign him. What we did right at the beginning of the process was speak to Patrick, Andrew and [vice-chairman] Parag Marath about this situation.

“I’ve been very transparent and I think Robbie has probably gone through a more rigorous process than anyone else who works at this football club.

“What I do know is that he will work 25/8 to be successful at this football club, and I look forward to him proving that he will be an excellent employee at Rangers.”

Thelwell also defended the signing of striker Youssef El Shermati, who arrived at Rangers for an initial fee of £8m, having failed to score in 24 appearances for Everton.

It was Thelwell who brought the Portuguese youth international to Merseyside from Sporting – again for big money in a £15m deal.

He was asked if he was holding on to his multi-million pound signing, who has yet to score in seven appearances for the club.

“Yes, very much so,” said Thelwell. “I think Youssef Al-Sharmiti is a player with huge potential.

“I never doubted him in any way. Again, I think Danny will help get the best out of Joseph.

“It’s very early days for him, he’s a young talent and of course with young talent sometimes it takes a while.

He added: “But I am sure that he will prove during his career here that he is a very, very good player.”