Three reasons why Mark Warburton was doomed at Rangers from the start
COMMENT By Matt Farr
Mark Warburton’s ill-fated tenure at Rangers has come to an end, albeit in unusual fashion.
The Ibrox chief was abruptly dismissed from his post on Friday evening, after reports emerged that Rangers had ‘accepted the resignations’ of Warburton, and two of his associates, David Weir and Frank McParland,
However, Warburton is adamant that he did not resign from the club, and has since reiterated he was unaware of the decision.
On the contrary, the former Brentford boss was already clinging to his position at Ibrox, following a series of miserable results.
Despite his miserable tenure, there is reason to suggest that Warburton was doomed right from the start – here’s why.
The club have an identity crisis
Perhaps one of the main reasons why Warburton was dismissed from his post was the sheer gulf between Rangers and Celtic this season.
Celtic are currently 27 points clear of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, a margin that is simply unacceptable given the rivalry between the two sides.
However, even before Warburton took charge, the club stood very little chance of competing with their great rivals for the title this season, so it would be harsh to judge him on that.
This is far from the Rangers that was at the pinnacle of Scottish football several years ago, and that is not Warburton’s fault. The financial crisis ripped the club apart, forcing them to start afresh at the very bottom of the Scottish football pyramid.
Yet despite their new identity, the rivalry with Celtic remained. But realistically, Celtic have improved greatly in Rangers’ absence from the top-flight, and benefited massively from the money from their European adventures. Rangers had very little chance of competing this season, and expectations were set way too high.
In the years to come, Rangers will no doubt regain their position among the elite. But, for a club currently going through its’ rebuilding process, the weight of expectation was perhaps too great for Warburton; or anyone else for that matter.
English leadership was not tried and tested
Warburton was the very first English-born manager to take charge at Ibrox. Unsurprisingly, the majority of Rangers managers have been Scottish, but there have been a few foreign names with reasonable success.
Dick Advocaat and Paul Le Guen were the two non-Scottish managers to lead Rangers before Warburton, but it is perhaps clear that a home-grown boss is the way forward.
The likes of Walter Smith, Ally McCoist and Alex McLeish have all endured their fair share of success at Ibrox in the last decade, and the club may now consider returning to Scottish leadership.
Not all of their managers have been a success, but with Warburton, the turn to an Englishman has proven unsuccessful. Despite his previous achievements, his appointment was a risk, and it was an untried and untested avenue of exploration.
Too big for his boots
There were claims back when he was first appointed over a year ago that the Rangers job was ‘too big’ for Warburton. The same claims have been repeated more recently, and there is perhaps some truth behind it.
Despite the earlier talk of an identity crisis, the Rangers job is still one of the biggest in football. It is a massive club, with a massive support, and to be able to lay down a successful legacy at Ibrox, you need to be up to the task.
Warburton may not have been the best person for the job, and that is why he was doomed to fail.
He had great success with Brentford, leading them into the English Championship for the 2014-15 season, where they have since remained, and he currently holds the best win percentage of any Brentford manager to date.
However, Rangers represented a much tougher test, and his approach did not pay-off. Yes, there were a number of crucial errors made by Warburton and his staff during his time at Ibrox, including a large number of failed signings, but possibly he just wasn’t the man for the job in the first place.
Rangers will be keen not to make that same mistake again, as they begin the hunt for his successor.
In other Rangers news, contrary to popular view, Alan Brazil insists the club has made a huge mistake by letting Warburton leave the club.
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