Please not Steven Gerrard - Rangers' ideal next manager should be obvious after Russell Martin disaster
Rangers sacked the former Premier League boss after just 17 games in charge at Ibrox
It turns out Rangers’ suits could stomach going winless for almost two months in the Scottish Premiership and losing a Champions League qualifier 9-1 on aggregate, but drawing with Falkirk is where they drew the line.
After hiring Russell Martin as Rangers’ 20th permanent manager, 49ers-appointed sporting director Kevin Thelwell espoused the qualities of the Englishman as the right man to steer the Gers back to the top of Scottish football.
“We went through quite a diligent and thorough process,” Thelwell said. “And right from the very start it was clear to me and the other guys who were involved in the process that Russell was the standout candidate. He’s had a lot of experience now as a manager and a head coach and over the course of that career it’s clear to see he’s sharpened that approach.”
So based on that, Rangers’ 21st manager should be an underwhelming manager with limited coaching experience, whose performances in the dugout have gotten worse over his career. In short, Rangers’ 21st manager should be Steven Gerrard.
Rangers must avoid ex trap with Steven Gerrard
It’s easy to see the parallels with Walter Smith - though part of how Gerrard endeared himself to the Ibrox faithful was by eschewing any comparisons to the 10-time Scottish champion.
However, not every managerial reunion is a success even for the most decorated coaches - just ask Fabio Capello or Louis van Gaal, and Gerrard has had a torrid time in the dugout since leaving Ibrox.
Possessing less managerial experience in serious leagues than Martin, Gerrard had an Aston Villa team capable of qualifying for the Champions League on track to be relegated and couldn’t make Al-Ettifaq competitive in Saudi Arabia even with state backing. So please, not Gerrard.
Instead, Rangers should be avoid the temptation of appointing a famous Premier League name like Gerrard, Sean Dyche, Gary O’Neil, Frank Lampard or Michael Carrick and instead focus on ability to turn fortunes around at Ibrox, where two names stand out: Kevin Muscat and Danny Rohl.
Rohl has only had one job in management, but what a job he did. Taking over a struggling fallen giant in Sheffield Wednesday, Rohl won the EFL Championship Manager of the Month in just his second full month in charge and steered the Owls to survival and then a mid-table finish before he departed as a result of the ownership turmoil at Hillsborough.
While the external pressure at Wednesday was low compared to what Rohl could expect at Ibrox, he’s already worked at Bayern Munich and the German national team so has a taste of that suffocating expectation from fans.
However, Ibrox would be the biggest stage Rohl has performed on either as a player or a manager, whereas Muscat’s coaching pedigree and familiarity with Rangers make him the best of both worlds and the perfect manager for the job.
Muscat can return Rangers to former glory
Rangers had a front-row seat as Ange Postecoglou proved that success in Australia and East Asia can translate to Scottish football, and that Celtic silverware should pave the way for The Gers’ next winning manager.
Muscat failed in a difficult situation in Belgium in his only European stint so far after recording a 49% win rate at Melbourne Victory across 214 games and winning the A-League twice, but he responded well in Japan and China.
Replacing Postecoglou at Yokohama F Marinos (as an Australia who was born in Europe and moved to the southern hemisphere at an early age - the parallels are certainly there), Muscat won the J1 League with Yokohama F Marinos and reached the final of the AFC Champions League, before switching to Shanghai Port and guiding them to the Chinese Super League title at his first attempt.
Muscat is now on course for back-to-back titles in Shanghai, with his side two points clear at the top of the table with four games remaining. While Muscat is on a reported yearly salary of £1.6million, that contract comes to end in November when the Chinese Super League season wraps up, and while the Red Eagles will surely want to retain their most successful coach, the chance for Muscat to step up a stage will be tempting.
Already experienced at Ibrox, Muscat knows the Rangers job is one of the more coveted jobs in world football and can give him the opportunity to test himself on the biggest stage, while his family won’t exactly be going hungry on a Rangers wage.