Philippe Clement’s departure from Rangers has already sparked speculation about who could be his permanent successor at Ibrox.
Barry Ferguson has already been appointed temporary manager until the end of the season, and he has already lost his first game in command at Ibrox against Motherwell, following a gritty 4-2 win at Kilmarnock to begin.
With Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises edging closer to a takeover, a shift in mindset may be in order as the search for a new manager begins.
Ally McCosit responds to Rafa Benitez’s question.
With the Gers wanting to get themselves back to the top of their game, competing with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and bringing silverware to Ibrox, their next permanent appointment will have to be high-level.
Furthermore, with a takeover seemingly close, this could put the Light Blues in a position with more money to spend and a bigger attraction for big-name managers.
Jeff Stelling could not help but throw an ambitious name into the mix live on talkSPORT (3 March, 9:41am) as he posed the question: “What about Rafa [Benitez] at Rangers?”
Ally McCoist responded with stutters before replying: “I got a bit of stick about my silence on the last one when I was kind of speechless. You’ve beat me again with that one. Listen.”
Stelling jumped in to point out: “Well he’s got loads of experience. He’s got European experience, he’s got top level experience, he is available.”
The Gers legend admitted: “Absolutely. Haven’t got a problem with it. The only thing he’d need is the same as Amorim and that is a better squad of players to deal with than this moment in time.”
Rangers set the tone with next managerial appointment
Given how poor this season has been for Rangers and how much their standards have dropped, the appointment of Ferguson comes with very little risk attached.
However, going into Europa League action with someone who has no full-time managerial experience at this level is also risky.
It’s difficult to make too many predictions for the off-season without knowing who will be in charge when the need for a new appointment comes and if the 49ers can pull off their takeover, it will likely be a much more ambitious selection.
Benitez is a manager with top level experience and has shown at numerous clubs that he cannot only deliver better standards on the pitch but also connect with supporters and understand their expectations.
| Napoli | 52.7% |
| Real Madrid | 68% |
| Newcastle United | 42.5% |
| Dalian Professional | 31.6% |
| Everton | 31.8% |
| Celta Vigo | 27.3% |
However, as McCosit alludes to, the issues at Ibrox run much deeper at the moment and therefore, without an increase in the standard of players too, it’s hard to see who could be the manager to deliver success to Glasgow.
It is an appointment that feels unlikely but you never know what Rangers might pull out of the bag, potentially a Champions League winner, it seems.
