MARK WARBURTON, the Rangers manager, has claimed the appointment of Frank McParland as Head of Recruitment will prove to be one of the most important and successful moves in recent times by the club.
The 56-year-old will arrive in Glasgow next week with an impressive CV and while the supporters some time ago grew weary of fanciful statements coming out of Ibrox, this does seem to be, to use Warburton’s word, a coup.
McParland, who was sporting director at Burnley having spent two spells at Liverpool, worked with the Rangers manager during his time at Brentford and his task will be to scour Britain and Europe for players.
“You live and die by recruitment," said Warburton. “Staff members and players, of course. Frank will be a very important part of the overall project, no doubt about that.
“Frank’s qualities are undoubted given the level he has worked at, which is Champions League level. David (Weir) and I know him very well. His qualities means that we are excited he’s joining us.
“He knows how David and I work, we know how he works. He knows the type of players we are looking for, the attributes we look for, the character of the players we want on and off the pitch.
"He has a network of contacts. Frank is a doer. He gets the players, is well respected and worked at the highest level. So to get Frank is a coup. It’s a big appointment for us. We have got another two appointments coming shortly. We are making progress in key areas."
Warburton admitted that despite the two men’s relationship, it took a bit of persuading to get McParland to move from Burnley to what is currently a second tier Scottish club, and one with a lot less money than any in the English Championship.
"It was a big call,” admitted the Rangers manager. “But Frank and I have worked together for eight or nine years. He knows what I want and I have sold the Rangers project to him. He is excited by it. In my mind he is one of the best in the business, absolutely. Rangers will always try and get the best.”
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