Mark Allen confirmed as Director of Football

Rangers have confirmed the appointment of Manchester City Academy Director Mark Allen as the club’s new Director of Football.

Allen had a short playing career, coming through at Swindon Town, before heading to the US where he undertook a business and accountancy degree and returning to the UK aged 24. After that, a 13-year stint as Managing Director of MTV’s broadcast division gave him a strong understanding of what it required, from a business perspective, at one of the biggest entertainment brands on the planet. Now aged 54, and with eigth years of running City’s academy under his belt, Allen is set to take control of the day-to-day football operations at Ibrox as the club’s board of directors look to push the club to the next level.

Speaking to Rangers’ official website, Allen said: “I loved every minute of my time with Manchester City, they are a club with fantastic people and fantastic supporters but the time was right for me to look for a fresh challenge and I am joining one of the world’s truly great football clubs.

“Steeped in history and tradition, I am honoured to join Rangers and work with the Board of Directors, Pedro Caixinha, his management team and the staff at the Club.”

Managing Director Stewart Robertson also commented on the appointment, saying: “We are delighted Mark has agreed to move to Glasgow and become our new Director of Football.

“He is a man of vision who has achieved great success with Manchester City’s Academy. He has excellent contacts in football but also the business world and he will be a great asset to Rangers.

“We said we would not rush into an appointment as we wanted the right candidate and we feel Mark is the best man for the job. We look forward to working with him closely in the years ahead in what will be an important role at the Club.”