Image Credits: Imago Images
It has been a busy but increasingly purposeful period at the Ibrox.
Rangers finished third in the Scottish Premiership last season, a full 10 points adrift of champions Celtic, and the pressure to close that gap has made the club’s off-field restructuring just as important as their summer business on the pitch.
The Scottish giants are set to officially announce their new manager Derek McInnes later this Wednesday, looking to reshape a squad that endured a difficult 2025-26 campaign following Russell Martin’s ill-fated reign that ended in an early sacking.
From overhauling the playing staff to rebuilding the club’s football leadership structure, Rangers are clearly intent on laying the groundwork for a more competitive version.
That off field rebuild has now taken a step forward.
Rangers have officially confirmed the permanent appointment of former Liverpool defender Stig Inge Bjørnebye as the club’s Performance Director.
The 56-year-old Norwegian initially joined Ibrox in December 2025 in a temporary football consultant and advisor capacity.
Bjørnebye said of his appointment: “Rangers is a club with huge expectations, and that is one of the reasons I am excited to take on this role permanently.”
“Our responsibility now is to provide the football departments and the players with everything they need to win, while also creating a clear pathway for the next generation of Rangers players.”
Having impressed during that interim spell working alongside the existing staff, Bjørnebye has now been handed a full-time role, completing the club’s football leadership group alongside manager McInnes and Technical Director Dan Purdy.
Bjørnebye spent eight years at Anfield after being signed by Graeme Souness, going on to make 184 appearances for the Reds between 1992 and 2000.
A reliable and attack-minded left-back, he was part of the Liverpool side that won the League Cup in 1994-95.
After hanging up his boots, Bjørnebye moved into football administration, serving as Sporting Director at both Rosenborg in Norway and AGF Aarhus in Denmark before arriving in Glasgow.