The Full Scottish - October 2025
Welcome to the Full Scottish Football Report – Oct 25 – A month of turmoil at Celtic and Rangers with more changes at the top of both clubs, while Scotland march on towards World Cup qualification.
Served by Brian P. Dunleavy
Kevin Thelwell’s Role and Nepotism Concerns at Rangers:
Kevin Thelwell, now Sporting Director at Rangers, is reportedly planning to hire his son Robbie as head of recruitment, raising questions about nepotism amid the club’s struggles and management issues.
Poor Performance Under Rangers’ New Manager Danny Rohl:
Danny Rohl, appointed as Rangers’ new manager, has a challenging start with a defeat in the Europa League and the club sitting 6th in the Premiership, indicating a difficult transition period.
Celtic’s Leadership Turmoil and John Kennedy’s Departure:
The departure of long-time assistant John Kennedy after nearly 30 years at Celtic signifies turmoil within the club, especially amid ongoing dysfunction and management dissatisfaction.
Scotland’s National Team Progress Toward World Cup Qualification:
Scotland moved closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, securing at least a playoff spot after a narrow win, with upcoming decisive matches against Greece and Denmark.
Thelwell & Son To The Rescue At Rangers
We’re not trying to trigger New York Red Bull supporters. We promise. However, former Red Bull head of sport Kevin Thelwell is making news—and raising eyebrows—early on his role as sporting director at Rangers.
If multi-club ownership and poor choices in the transfer market and in managerial hires (at least so far) sound familiar, we can’t help it. We know that was Thelwell’s modus operandi here, and he seems to be reverting to the mean in Glasgow.
It’s early, but seven matches into the 2025-26 season, ’Gers sit 8th in the Premiership table, behind Kilmarnock on goal differential, believe it or not. During his time in Harrison, N.J., Thelwell was called incompetent—and essentially a corporate stooge—by a number of Red Bull (née MetroStars) loyalists. He might beg to differ, but the proof was in the pudding on the pitch: Under his watch, the team were often a difficult watch and never really a contender for the MLS Cup.
It seems unlikely history can repeat itself in Glasgow, but the early results make you wonder, at least.
Family Affair For Thelwell
Now, Thelwell appears to be adding nepotism to his list of footballing sins, with reports indicating he plans to hire his son Robbie as Rangers’ new head of recruitment.
The lad is not lacking in experience. Thelwell the younger has been head of technical scouting and loan management at English Championship side Norwich City since 2024, where some (not us) might argue he helped fleece Celtic on Adam Idah to the tune of £9 million. Idah was sold to Swansea for £7 million just a year after permanently signing for the Hoops. However, there is recent evidence to suggest that father-son acts don’t always succeed in Scottish football, at least within Glasgow’s big two.
Although, based on results this week, some in the Celtic support may be pining for a return to the days of the family affair.
Russell Martin Sacked By Glasgow Rangers
Groups representing Celtic supporters met with members of the club board on Monday to discuss concerns over “mismanagement” of the first team. The phrase “everything is relative” certainly applies here. Across the city, Rangers finally put manager Russell Martin out of his misery, sacking him Sunday just seven league matches into his tenure.
The Scot-by-way-of-England likely deserved better, but the writing (graffiti?) had been on the wall for weeks. Drawing away to Falkirk, heading into the ongoing international break was merely the last straw.
Under new ownership, ’Gers was in the midst of a squad overhaul, but they remained a work in progress following the closure of the summer transfer window. If Celtic supporters believe their club had a less-than-stellar summer window—and it did—then imagine what they would make of the business conducted in Govan, which saw no real significant signings and little in the way of “development” recruits.
In short, Martin didn’t have much to work with, and he wasn’t able to take what he had and make it better.
Instability haunts Rangers
And now, with the next Glasgow derby, Brendan Rodgers, the Irishman in the middle of his third season in his second spell in charge at Celtic, will face his 12th different Rangers manager, a shocking sign of instability and—dare we say it?—mismanagement.
The 49ers Group, which finalized its takeover of the Ibrox club in the summer, is only just starting, so it can’t be blamed for the failings of the past.
But some of the men who have walked through the revolving door of managers at the club over the past decade or so came with track records of success at prior stops in their respective careers—yes, even Martin.
There is some truth to the unique pressures and demands in Glasgow being too much for many, but… 11 different people? Well, that seems like a lot.
Perhaps ’Gers will be 12th-time-lucky and score with the next appointment. But would you, dear reader, be willing to take that bet?
Scotland National Team Targets World Cup Spot
We’re not much for “optics” here at the Full Scottish. Things are either good or bad, regardless of how they “look.” And the past fortnight has seen an event that was bad and looked it, and another that was good, even though it didn’t look so great. As they say in the Gorbals, “Wit?”
First, the bad news: Rangers sacked its sad-sack manager Russell Martin on the eve of the current international break, but not before the gloomy gaffer needed a police escort and special transport to make his way out of Falkirk stadium, the site of his final indignity (a draw) as bench boss.
Video footage shows a dejected Martin being kept away from an angry mob that also initially prevented players from boarding the team coach. We’ve seen worse—at the Copa Libertadores, for example—but still.
Scotland national team Eye Prize
As for the good news, Scotland moved a step closer to the 2026 World Cup, clinching at least a playoff after a desultory 2-1 win over Belarus at Hampden on Sunday.
If Denmark also beat Belarus, the Scots would need a draw at Greece and a win against the Danes on the final group matchday at Hampden to make it to their first World Cup in 28 years. Those ties are scheduled for November. Should a playoff be necessary, it would take place in March.
“You look at that table and it’s nice to see,” captain John McGinn told the press after the Belarus victory, while noting that the performance Sunday could and should have been much better. “I think people can get excited—we can get excited—but we’ve got a few weeks for everyone to stay healthy and come back for two really important games which could put us down in history.”
In other words, at least in some ways, things are looking good.
Glasgow Rangers Danny Rohl With It
Rangers replaced manager Russell Martin earlier this week with another bench boss with a spotty track record in English football, Danny Rohl.
Martin, who was sacked following a disastrous 5-6-6 tenure, came to Ibrox having won about 38% of the matches in which he managed—with Milton Keynes Dons, Swansea City, and Southampton. His successor, the German Danny Rohl, comes to Ibrox from Sheffield Wednesday where, in just under three years, he had a winning percentage of… 38%.
To be fair, the movie from Sheffield to Govan is sort of a frying pan into the fire sort of transition. Wednesday supporters staged a boycott of their club’s Championship match against Middlesbrough Thursday, primarily to express discontent with owner Dejphon Chansiri. The club have had difficulty meeting its monthly wage bill several times in the past year.
At Rangers, Rohl comes into a situation in which he was, at best, second choice, after negotiations with Australian Kevin Muscat broke down at the 11th hour last weekend.
Rohl Call
Large segments of the Rangers support have been vocal in their own discontent with their club hierarchy, including new owners 49ers Group and sporting director Kevin Thelwell.
Rohl already has a loss on his ledger, with Thursday’s 3-0 defeat to Norwegian side SK Brann in the Europa League. On the positive side, it’s hard to imagine ’Gers getting worse under Rohl, given that they currently sit 6th in the Premiership table, 13 points (!) behind leaders Hearts.
He also enters the Glasgow scene just as his new employer’s arch-rivals, Celtic, seem to be going through struggles of their own. Supporter protests and a shocking 2-0 loss at Dundee remain fresh in the memory, even as an emotional, come-from-behind triumph over Sturm Graz in the Europa League helps heal at least some of the wounds, at least for a day or two.
As with all these things, only time will tell whether Rohl is the right man for the job. For the time being, though, at least from the blue side of Glasgow’s perspective: At least he’s not Martin.
What John Kennedy’s Departure Means For Celtic
Somewhat lost in the deluge of dysfunction emanating out of Celtic Park and Lennoxtown the past two days—or, arguably, since late July—has been John Kennedy’s departure. The assistant coach is notably absent from the list of backroom staff serving under interim bench boss Martin O’Neill.
As Kennedy follows the “toxic” Brendan Rodgers out the door, it ends the Celtic man’s nearly 30-year tenure with the club he’s supported since he was a boy, the club that he literally sacrificed his body and his playing career for before becoming a key member of its coaching staff.
Players past and present have cited Kennedy as vital to their development, and he has been the one constant, as, since 2014, multiple managers—his bosses—have not hesitated to use what must be a revolving door to enter and leave the Celtic dugout.
Kennedy’s next move
Reportedly, he turned down top-job positions at Hearts and Hibs over the years. And, he demurred when Ange Postecoglou sought to bring “Kendo” with him to Spurs after the Aussie left Parkhead in 2023. But now Kennedy has thrown in his lot with Rodgers rather than the club he has been associated with for decades.
That alone suggests there may be more to the story of what’s going on at Celtic than majority shareholder Dermot Desmond’s claims that Rodgers is essentially the root of all evil.
True, it could be that Kennedy just thinks it’s time for a change. However, if that’s the case, why now, when his decision can only be seen as a tacit endorsement of Rodgers’ side the months-long saga of obvious disharmony between the dugout and the club hierarchy?
Kennedy’s departure raises questions
Until this week, we have been largely dismissive of efforts among the Celtic support seeking reform at the club, citing leadership’s track record over the past 25 years or so. But the past couple of days have shown that the Green Brigade and others have been right all along. Something is indeed rotten in Denmark, er, Parkhead, and it’s unlikely that that begins and ends with Rodgers.
Desmond’s statement cannot be taken at face value. If Rodgers was indeed lying about his contract and the club’s transfer business—and placing the board in the proverbial crosshairs, then why wasn’t he sacked when he first made the claims in August?
And why didn’t Desmond and the board immediately respond to supporters’ requests for an explanation with regard to Rodgers’ claims?
Mixed loyalties
Confident, competent leadership would have acted immediately when it’s position was questioned—even by a manager who surely knows how to make an entrance (11 trophies across two spells in charge at Celtic Park) but has yet to master the graceful exit—or even the “Irish goodbye.”
Clearly, as Kennedy has opted to leave Celtic, perhaps to follow Rodgers to a destination as yet unknown, it’s a sign of not only where his loyalties lie but what he thinks of the current direction of the club.
And given the past few days, it appears that direction is, well, down.