Rangers: What next Ibrox boss needs to be successful - and who fits best?
- Published
Rangers' new-look board, including chairman John Bennett (left) & CEO James Bisgrove (right), are under serious pressure to get the next managerial appointment right
With the shortlist drawn and final interviews to finish at the end of the week, Rangers are intensifying their efforts as they close in on naming their 19th permanent manager.
A third of the previous 18 bosses across the club's 151-year history have come and gone in a little more than a decade, which can only indicate that something has got to change.
Amid a period of transition in the Ibrox boardroom, a new-look hierarchy can ill afford to get their first managerial appointment wrong - so what should they be looking for?
Here, BBC Scotland examines the reported leading candidates and picks out three key - and fairly obvious - attributes they will need to possess in order to a succeed in Govan.
'You need to have a presence'
"Heartless. Passionless. Leaderless." In Paisley on Sunday, the away end made it clear that a significant shift in mindset should be the priority for any new manager.
Given the demands of contemporary coaching, there is not as much to be said nowadays for boasting a manager with presence, but the importance of it in Glasgow cannot be downplayed.
"I've played with loads of good players at Rangers that never succeeded because they didn't have the right character, personality or resilience to handle the expectation," ex-Ibrox midfielder Kevin Thomson said on BBC Radio 5 live last week.
"The manager also has to have that. You have to have that edge in you every single day. I'm not so sure Michael Beale had the same presence as a Steven Gerrard."
Thomson adds that the successful candidate does not necessarily have to be a "Rangers man" - but Kevin Muscat, a reported leading contender, has the advantage of previously experiencing life in Glasgow.
Between 2002 and 2003, the Yokohama F Marinos boss played 22 times for the Ibrox side, winning a domestic treble in the process.
Given his playing career, he's surely not a man to be messed with. Muscat received 123 bookings and 12 red cards over 19 years and was labelled "the most hated man in football" by ex-Birmingham City defender Martin Grainger in 2000.
"As a presence, he gets Scottish football," former team-mate Neil McCann said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "He understands the league, he understands the intensity, the rivalry, how to get the job done."
While reported frontrunner Philippe Clement is an outsider in Scottish football terms, the Belgian must have a huge drive to succeed in Govan if rumours of turning down a lucrative job in Saudi Arabia in favour of a move to Rangers are true.
Relentless winning mentality
Of course, having presence does not amount to just intimidation. In Thomson's view, it's also "someone who can handle the weight of winning every trophy" you compete for, something Muscat got a flavour of during his short stint in Glasgow.
While appointing the Australian would perhaps give off vibes of copying Celtic's homework - given he succeeded compatriot Ange Postecoglou in Yokohama - Rangers would be landing a manager who has won A-League and J-League titles.
Clement also boasts domestic success, winning the Belgian top flight in three straight seasons with two separate clubs - one with Genk in 2018-19 followed by back-to-back titles at Club Bruges.
But the concern for the Ibrox board will be if the 49-year-old's step up to Monaco was a step too far. His only full season with the Ligue 1 club ended in a sixth-placed finish before departing in June.
Oliver Glasner is another name that will not go away - and it's one Rangers fans will know all too well after the Austrian led Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory in the 2022 final against the Ibrox side.
That triumph speaks volumes of the 49-year-old's European pedigree, as does the 10 points his team accumulated in last season's Champions League group stage.
But the Bundesliga club opted for a change in the summer after a seventh-placed finish in the league.
AZ Alkmaar boss Pascal Jansen, rated more of an outsider after he publicly distanced himself from the vacant role, is yet to win any silverware as a manager.
An efficient - and attractive - playing style
Ex-Monaco head coach Philippe Clement is the reported frontrunner for the Rangers job
With a seven-point gap to make up on Celtic, and a Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hearts on the horizon, finding someone who can improve short-term results is the immediate concern for the Ibrox board.
But given what Rangers fans have had to watch for much of this term, there will naturally be calls for a more eye-catching brand of football.
Equally, there must also be a demand on addressing defensive issues as too often in key moments, particularly in decisive Old Firm encounters, Rangers' backline have switched off.
Fellow Belgian and current Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin has backed Clement - whose teams have an average scoring rate of about two goals per game - as a "good" choice, adding that he would "bring some clarity and an attacking style" to the club.
Results such as a 2-2 Champions League draw away to Real Madrid with Club Bruges and a 3-0 win over Paris St-Germain in March last year, plus a 3-1 triumph in February, during his time as Monaco boss also highlight his tactical nous.
The same can be said for Glasner, whose Eintracht side dispatched Barcelona and West Ham on their way to beating Rangers in Seville.
But whoever lands the role will have at least three months to wait until they can make their own additions, meaning they will have to revitalise and improve a group short of ideas.
That could be a problem for someone like Clement, given his intent to play 4-4-2 with attacking wide men - something Rangers are seriously lacking - but it will be up to the successful candidate to come up with the solutions.
Even with the odds stacked against them, in the short term at least, the job remains an attractive proposition. It can quickly become unforgiving, though. Just ask the last two...
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