Rangers coach to quit Ibrox for new role at Scottish rivals
Rangers are set for major changes across the board this summer, and another member of staff will now leave.
49ers Enterprises are set to complete a takeover of the club which should see them hire a new manager and sign a number of new players in the summer.
Rangers have been linked with Steven Gerrard and Davide Ancelotti as potential new managers, and they will likely bring their own backroom teams with them.
There will now be a change in lower levels at the club too, as one youth coach will leave to join another Scottish Premiership side.
Laurie Ellis to leave Rangers for Hearts
Rangers are now set to lose a key member of their academy staff, as coach Laurie Ellis will join Scottish Premiership rivals Hearts this summer.
Edinburgh News (22 May) have reported that Ellis will leave Ibrox, where he has been the head of the under-15 and 16 age groups, to join Hearts to oversee their youth academy.
| Scottish Premership table (Top two) | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1 Celtic | 36 | 86 | 92 |
| 2 Rangers | 36 | 39 | 75 |
The 45-year-old joined Rangers in the summer of 2022, and holds a UEFA Pro Licence qualification.
Ellis is a boyhood Hearts fan, and he will now return to Edinburgh for his new role, which will spell an end to his three years at Rangers.
Rangers need to develop youth
Rangers need improvements at all levels within the club, and this stretches to the academy, with few players developed and sold for big money or integrated into the first team in recent years.
The academy could help the first team both by producing talents who walk straight into the team, or developing those who are then sold for huge fees to be reinvested.
One of the objectives for 49ers Enterprises will be to help the development of young talent in the long term at Ibrox, while balancing the need to make signings to improve the first-team squad.
In Ellis, Rangers will be losing an experienced academy coach, and they will have to replace him well if they are to achieve their objectives at youth level.
Ross McCausland is one player who has graduated from academy to first team, but his time at senior level has yielded mixed results.