Jose Mourinho set tails wagging in the Scottish mainstream media before Rangers’ Europa League last 16 first leg with Fenerbahce.
Mourinho was typically on form ahead of the clash in Istanbul and was asked if he would ever like to manage one of Celtic or Rangers in the future.
The former Chelsea manager was put on the spot but rejected any imminent moves to Glasgow, but he did not fully rule it out and noted how passionate the game was in Scotland, something that attracts him.
Barry Ferguson went on to outwit his Portuguese counterpart as Rangers triumphed in the first leg 3-1 with Vaclav Cerny scoring a brace and Cyriel Dessers adding another.
Rangers, in typical fashion however, lost the home leg 2-0 on Thursday night after 90 minutes, but managed to squeeze through via a penalty shootout thanks to the heroics of Jack Butland.
Boyd and Sutton discuss Mourinho at Rangers or Celtic
Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton sat down with Gordon Duncan and former Rangers striker Steven Naismith on The Warm-Up podcast on Friday amid the aftermath of Rangers’ success over Fenerbahce.
And Duncan brought up the topic of Mourinho and how he may have reduced his chances of getting the Rangers job in the future having saw Ferguson get the better of him.
The panel went on to have a discussion over Mourinho managing either Celtic or Rangers, with Boyd delivering a spot on response to Sutton’s question about him taking over at Ibrox one day.
Duncan: “Is that Jose Mourinho done himself out of a job in Scotland. Last week he said he would like to and everyone got excited.
Boyd: “He’s some man.”
Sutton: “Would you like to see him at Rangers?”
Boyd: “It would be box office.”
Duncan: “Rangers have just got the better of him. Celtic now can’t hire a manager that can’t get past Rangers surely? So, is that him? Is he done?
Boyd: “It would be box office. Is Jose done?
Duncan: “His job prospects in Scotland?”
Sutton: “Are you saying he’s not going to get a job at either Celtic or Rangers in the future, Gordon? Which one would he end up at? I don’t know.
Naismith: “Would you like to see him at Celtic?”
Sutton: “Erm, doesn’t really bother me to be perfectly honest.”
What did Mourinho actually say about managing Celtic or Rangers?
Mourinho’s contract at Fenerbahce expires in the summer of 2026, so it’s extremely unlikely he will become the next Rangers manager after Barry Ferguson’s interim spell.
But in the distant future, why not? He thinks the Scottish Premiership is a passionate league and pointed to the scale of managing either Old Firm club
He said: ”In this moment no because I have a job. I have a job that motivates me and a job that demands loyalty but why not in the future?
”People can say that the Scottish league is a league of two teams but it is a league of passion. It is a league of passion and for me, passion in football is something that for me is everything.
“For me to play in empty stadiums, to play in competitions where there is not that fire of the passion, for me it doesn’t make any sense.
”Celtic and Rangers they are big clubs with big fan bases, big emotions, big responsibilities, big expectations, why not?
”But in this moment I have a job. Celtic has a fantastic coach like Brendan. Rangers has Ferguson now so full respect to them and I am not searching for a new job.”
