By support

13th May, 2018 | 9:00pm

Rangers senior man confirms he is set for Ibrox exit

Rangers caretaker manager Jimmy Nicholl has confirmed he will leave the Gers this summer when Steven Gerrard takes over as manager – and admitted a return to the Gers for a third spell was an opportunity he “couldn’t turn down.”

Nicholl had two stints as a player at Ibrox in the 1980s before being appointed Graeme Murty’s assistant manager in January on a short-term deal.

When Murty was axed following the 5-0 Old Firm thrashing by Celtic, senior man Nicholl took over the reins until the end of the season – but admitted the time was right for him to “bow out.”

“Will I bow out now? Yeah. Listen, it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Nicholl said, as quoted by the Daily Record.

“It was only for six months, it might have been different. I don’t know. But that will be it for me.

“We got off to a great start. We were in Florida then ended up six or seven games in a row and you’re thinking, ‘This is great’.

“But then all of a sudden you see things that shouldn’t be happening and then think we can improve on that. Sometimes it wasn’t smooth.”

Football Insider verdict

Nicholl’s return to Ibrox was widely welcomed and the 61-year-old will go with the thanks of everyone at Ibrox. It was never likely that Nicholl would remain long-term – even if Murty was appointment manager beyond the summer – so it isn’t a surprise to see him leave now that Steven Gerrard is on his way to Ibrox. The 61-year-old won’t be short of offers when he does leave the Gers and also has his role as Northern Ireland assistant manager to fall back on. Nicholl could even return to Falkirk after leaving the Bairns shortly after being appointed to take up a role at Ibrox. Despite how everything ended this season, it could all have been very different if the Old Firm clash at Ibrox went in the Gers favour. Steven Gerrard’s arrival should now shake things up a bit at Ibrox and Nicholl could quickly be followed out the door by a number of players and coaching staff as the Liverpool icon gets to work.

In other Rangers news, the Gers are firmly in the running with Celtic to sign this £120,000-a-week Premier League player who wants to move on in the summer.

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