What did we learn from Rangers CEO Stewart's briefing?

Amid mounting pressure on manager Philippe Clement, new Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart has spoken to the the media for the first time.

Stewart, who took on the role at Ibrox last month, revealed the board are backing Clement and outlined his vision for the club.

So, what did we learn from Stewart's briefing?

Faith in Clement but no 'cast-iron guarantees'

Stewart was bullish on the board's reasoning for backing Clement. He says he has seen improvements in performances and in some players and that has convinced him to keep faith with the Belgian.

He also perhaps leaned on his Manchester United experience with comments such as "a constant change in manager is not effective".

Although Rangers are sticking with Clement, Stewart acknowledged supporter anger and admitted he can't give "cast-iron guarantees" if results don't improve.

He insists the board are not trying "avoid a tough decision" and says it's quite the opposite: "If anything, changing a manager would be the easy decision, because a lot of supporters are calling for that."

'Healthy tension' with manager

There is little doubt the new CEO is his own man. He says he's ready to face tough challenges and make calls that may not go down well with supporters.

He's also willing to go toe to toe with Clement on transfers, calling it "healthy tension".

Stewart expects the manager to be fully involved in transfers, but insists he won't have the final say. Stewart says he won't bow down to Clement, he'll challenge him and expects to be challenged back.

Determined to fix 'deeper issues'

Stewart has only been in the job a matter of weeks, but seems to have quickly identified past mistakes, as a source of "deeper issues" within the club, and is determined to address them, hence the review of "the entire football department".

The review is important to him - "this is something that I'm very focused on making a meaningful difference" - and will start on Monday, using an independent company, and take between six and 12 weeks.

No Igamane sale or 'panic buying'

Stewart was adamant Rangers have no intention of selling striker Hamza Igamane - or any other player who is "contributing on the pitch" in the January window. But he revealed efforts are being made to try to move fringe players on.

He has told the fans not to expects lots of incomings this month, explaining there might be one or two new signings, and "panic buying" will be avoided.