‘This is what I’ve heard’ – Rangers tipped to appoint ex-Premier League boss as interim manager
Rangers have been tipped to bring in a former Premier League manager as their interim boss while they search for a permanent replacement for Russell Martin.
Martin was sacked before the international break, following an abysmal four months in charge of the Glasgow giants.
Steven Gerrard turned down the chance to rejoin Rangers, forcing the hierarchy to return to their shortlist and continue the hiring process.
Kevin Muscat is the current favourite for the job, with Danny Rohl and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also in contention.
Slaven Bilic tipped to take over temporarily
Muscat’s potential appointment at Rangers could be delayed, as he wants to finish the season with his current side Shanghai Port, who are going for the Chinese Super League title.
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Slaven Bilic is a potential option to take over in the short-term.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Bilic is a good man-manager who would immediately be able to get something out of the Rangers squad.
However, Wyness added that the former West Ham boss would want the permanent role, rather than being given the position on a temporary basis.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “There’s Kevin Muscat, I’ve heard Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I’ve heard Slaven Bilic.
“Bilic could be a man manager who could get something out of the players short term. Perhaps he could be the interim coming in, but I think he’d want longer than interim as well.
“Then Muscat could be appointed after that. I don’t know, there are very few options now, and when you’re looking at Solskjaer, Bilic, who have been out of work for a while, it’s not great.”
Rangers fans have themselves to blame
As well as being rejected by Gerrard, Rangers were also turned down by Sean Dyche during their search for a new boss.
Wyness believes that Gers fans only have themselves to blame for the current situation, in which good managers are refusing the job.
He said: “You’re seeing that decent managers are starting to shy away from this sort of position. I’m afraid the Rangers fans have got themselves to blame for forcing Martin out. They’ve got to start getting behind the club and not just dragging things down after every three or four games.
“I’d say Dundee United at the weekend suddenly brings on a whole new importance for them as well. They are nine points behind Celtic at the moment and 11 points behind Hearts. That’s a big, big gap to make up.
“It can be done, there is no doubt it can be done, but it takes a real steely will from the owners to do it. And I’ve been there making some tough decisions before, getting the fan pressure, but it eventually does ease when people can start to see the green shoots of recovery.”
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