Patrick Stewart Rangers Q&A in full as he reveals hunt for sporting director in major root-and-branch review update

Patrick Stewart is a man in charge of a club that’s under fire.

Out of both domestic cups and on their last legs in the league, silverware is unlikely going to be filling that trophy room this season. The manager is being written off by huge sections of the fanbase but remains in the job. And the inertia from the boardroom is driving supporters mad. So what does Stewart have to say for himself. Here in an inhouse interview with the club media, the chief exec attempts to launch a defence of his and Clement’s reign...

How do you reflect upon the exit to Queen’s Park?

Look, I don’t want anyone to doubt the gravity of the result and how I view the gravity of the result. You can’t sugarcoat it, it was disastrous. It’s historically obviously a significant moment. It’s the first time we’ve got out to lower league opposition at home in the Scottish Cup. That is not lost on me. That’s obviously a source of shame for the club. Clearly there’s financial impact as well, but more importantly it was a really good opportunity to win a trophy and that’s now gone. It’s impacted everyone at the club, let’s be clear. Obviously everyone at Auchenhowie, but also around the club, it’s impacted morale and serious questions have been asked. So yeah, it’s a massive blow.

Why is Philippe Clement still the manager?

Why is he still the manager? Look, I’m going to go back to what I said in January. We have been underperforming as a club for several seasons now and that’s not down to a manager. We’ve changed the manager and it’s not made a difference. But what I’m doing now is I’m looking at the root causes of that and until we sort those root causes then it’s akin to trying to fix a broken house and starting with the ceiling instead of starting