Sackings throw Rangers back into a 'flux they could do without'

The sackings of Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart should have taken no one by surprise and yet the timing of their departures seemed to take most people aback.

Would it have been better to act during the international break? Maybe not, but having backed both chief executive and sporting director so vehemently just a month ago, Andrew Cavenagh has finally accepted neither man was carrying out their duties to the standards demanded of them, not least by the club's supporters.

Their shortcomings have been widely discussed and few will quibble with the ultimate decision, but it reintroduces a flux at Ibrox the club could well do without.

It may not have as dramatic an effect on the playing side as a change of manager does, at least in the short term, but what Rangers badly need is stability and although this decision has been taken for the right reasons, there will now need to be yet another period of bedding in new personnel and new ideas.

There are also suggestions these two staff changes will not be the last, while reports of some of Thelwell's summer signings being made available for transfer in January abound as well.

Yet again Rangers find themselves in a position where they will very probably have to take a hit on fees paid for players in order to get them out the door.

Meanwhile, Danny Rohl continues to get results in the league, though the manner of the victory over Livingston was some way short of convincing.

Injuries are also now going to have an impact as he tries to claw back Hearts' and Celtic's advantages, or at least ensure they don't get any bigger before he gets a chance to do some work in the January transfer window.

His immediate focus, though, is trying to get some points on the board in Europe against Braga, who comfortably beat Celtic earlier in the season, before another must-win league encounter against Falkirk at the weekend. Don't expect either of those games to be plain sailing.