Kevin Muscat has seemingly once again surfaced as a likely contender to become the next Rangers manager with the rising pressure mounting on Philippe Clement.
Despite Rangers’ humbling Scottish Cup loss at home to Queen’s Park over the weekend, Clement remains the club’s manager.
The 1-0 setback at Ibrox makes Clement the first manager in the competition’s 150-year history to oversee a home loss to lower-league opponents.
While the Belgian is still in charge for the time being, speculation about who will be the next to walk through the Ibrox doors continues.
Clement defeated Muscat to become Gers manager in October 2023, but the former Rangers player’s name has never gone away.
Kevin Muscat to replace Philippe Clement at the Rangers?
Muscat, on the other hand, has recently declared that he is content in China, where he is preparing to begin a new season as general manager of Shanghai Port.
And, according to commentator Derek Ferguson, the Gers have very little chance of persuading him to succeed Clement if they make a new proposal because they previously rejected him.
“Muscat has been quite vocal since being turned down, and I don’t think he’d consider the Rangers job again, which surprises me a little,” Ferguson exclusively told Ibrox News.
“Kevin knows Rangers quite well, and perhaps Rangers should have taken that approach. To be fair to Clement, he did turn things around at the beginning. However, since then, many of his interviews have been weird.
“When you sign a player, you are taking a risk. It’s the same here; it hasn’t worked for Clement.
“Muscat seems happy where he is and he’s probably a little but hurt that he was knocked back given his credentials and his relationship with Rangers, so I don’t see him being appointment.”
What has Kevin Muscat said about the Rangers job?
Muscat has never fully replied directly to speculation surrounding the Rangers job, whether that be around the time of Clement’s hiring, or even late last year when talk of him again being in the frame emerged.
The 51-year-old has stated repeatedly that he is content in his current position, but managers will never deviate from that tried-and-true line.
Craig Moore, who knows the Australian well, said in September that Muscat would have been “devastated” if he had been passed up for the post.
Despite all the talk of successors, Wayne Rooney is another outside bet. Clement is still manager.
Clement may be on the verge of being fired, but until the board pulls the trigger – ideally soon rather than later – all of this chatter becomes pointless.
