Rangers face ‘really tough’ managerial search as next boss warned of becoming a ‘laughing stock’
Rangers may find it harder than anticipated to entice a new manager to Ibrox following a stark warning.
Steven Gerrard has turned down the chance to become Rangers manager for a second spell, in a blow to Ibrox chiefs.
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is favourite for the Rangers job, with Kevin Muscat also a leading contender.
Rangers are currently heading into their match against Dundee United without a permanent or interim manager in place with players about to return from international duty.
Steven Gerrard feared of becoming ‘laughing stock’
Toxicity at Rangers is already putting off managers interested in taking the Ibrox hotseat and now Pat Nevin, as per the Daily Record [14 October], thinks that the next boss will not join due to the fear of becoming a “laughing stock.”
“You can go in there and as a manager, a well-respected manager, and come out as a laughing stock. And that’s maybe what’s happened with Stevie G this time,” Nevin said.
“He needs a job. He needs a profile, again, after what’s happened to him.
“So Stevie turned that down, that’s not because he doesn’t want to be Rangers manager, he’d like to be Rangers manager. He’s looking at them and thinking, ‘ooh, I don’t know about that’.
“If he’s saying that, some of the other very top ones will say the same. So whoever it is that comes now, it’s really tough.
“Steven Gerrard’s the last one that won a title and it stopped Celtic doing the ten titles in a row. So he’s literally as good as anyone else and he certainly got a tune out of that team that season.
“I feel sorry for the board because when you look elsewhere it’s tough. It’s really, really tough to get a top manager. Because when you come into Rangers, it’s not just Russell Martin – you’re behind the eight ball already.
“When you walk in, they’re so far behind the league just now. The expectation is, if you got second this season, even from so far behind, people will still be a bit grumpy with you.“
Rangers are nine points behind fierce rivals Celtic in second and 11 points behind league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership after seven matches.
Celtic have one major advantage over Rangers
Nevin also believes that whoever becomes the next Rangers manager will naturally have it tough to stop Celtic winning the league due to finances.
“I understand that, they’ve got high standards. But the amount of managers that have gone in there and come out and been trashed, absolutely trashed. And there’s no win for it. Celtic typically have so much more money,” Nevin said.
“Celtic have got a base there. Celtic can go and blow Rangers out of the water with money just now if they want, (but) they’re not. They’ve got plenty in the bank they can use. There’s all sorts of stuff that Celtic have got in place.
| Club | Squad Value |
| Celtic | €133million |
| Rangers | €104 |
“Rangers have got this team that’s been built by a whole bunch of different managers. And I go to see Celtic-Rangers games a lot and you think, ‘so who’s playing for Rangers now?’ And that’s not what you want.
“You want a core that’s going through that you believe in and you trust in. They’ve actually made one or two good signings, Bojan Miovski was a good signing this season.”
Martin made 11 new signings for Rangers in the summer transfer window, but none have yet to make a substantial impact at Ibrox, a problem the next manager has to solve.