While it is evident Brentford’s
Mark Warburton remains the prime target and the odds-on favourite, it is worth
remembering there are other significant candidates to take on the Rangers
mantle permanently, all of whom are at the top of bookies’ shortlists to be
appointed.
Ibroxnoise.co.uk will now take a
look at each in turn and it is up to you, the reader, who you wish to see
installed as the 16
th ‘permanent’ manager.
Mark Warburton: 1/2
The front-runner, Warburton’s
profile has raised significantly since he guided lowly Brentford from League 1
to the Championship, showing he has the skills to lead a team to promotion in
an incredibly competitive environment. He is also a quick learner, as few
realise this 52-year old had never managed before 2013. His stock as a result
is very high, and Rangers have been tracking him for at least a year. He is
clearly interested in the job, but while talks have taken place, it cannot yet
be assured he will become the next manager, especially given the emergence of interest in him from recently-relegated English Championship side Burnley in the event of Sean Dyche leaving for Sunderland.
Derek McInnes: 4/1
The second-favourite, McInnes is
highly respected in the management world, given his achievements with Aberdeen. A first League
Cup for the Dons since 1996, indeed their first trophy since then has seen former Rangers player McInnes become
highly sought-after, as has an excellent second place in the SPL last season to
champions Celtic. McInnes is viewed as more unlikely than Warburton for the
simple reason he is under contract and conceivably has no major reason to
leave.
Stuart McCall: 6/1
The present manager, sort of,
McCall did an admirable job under trying circumstances at Ibrox as a short-term
fix, and at least gave Rangers a shout of promotion, although a grand total of
three wins of six in the playoffs and a total of seven wins in 17 matches
probably does not do his case a massive favour. He is definitely an outsider,
but is on record as wishing the job on a permanent basis.
Billy Davies: 10/1
He has been linked with the
managerial hotseat since the Dead Sea was
merely suffering a cold, and frankly it is getting rather tedious. Davies had
one excellent season at Derby,
but otherwise his management career has seen him fired from pretty much every
position.
Ian Cathro: 14/1
Ian has not yet become a manager
in his own right, but is doing an outstanding job at Valencia as assistant and
helped win the Spanish giants a place in the Promised Land of the Champions
League, finishing fourth only a single point behind Diego Simeone’s mighty
Atletico. He does admit he would love to become the top man one day, and in Scotland too,
but it is implausible at best to see him give up La Liga and the Champions
League for trips to Morton on a rainy Saturday. Probably is not his time yet.
So there you have it, the main
candidates. Warburton seems to tick every box, but in football you never know.