On August 17th 1920, William Struth triumphed over Airdrie on his maiden bow at Ibrox as Rangers manager, taking over from the great William Wilton. This home victory saw the start of a record which stands to this day, of a new Rangers manager winning his first eight matches in charge.
Not even the colossal Jock Wallace, the graceful Walter Smith (either time) or the 72-master himself Willie Waddell could manage such a feat, and it has stood the test of 95 years and counting.
Until now. With seven out of seven wins in all competitions, Mark Warburton stands on the precipice of a truly extraordinary achievement, of equalling the great Struth and becoming, by that stat, the joint most successful new manager in Rangers’ entire history.
Obviously Struth achieved a hell of a lot more than just eight wins in a row, amassing a glut of titles and being regarded by many as Rangers’ finest boss of all time.
Times are also very different. Not only were Rangers in the top tier of Scottish football, but this was during both world wars and the post-war world is a very different one to pre.
That said, given the fact Warburton has only been in the job just over two months and knew little about the task at hand before arriving, there is no undermining what he has created in such a short space with such a limited budget.
And now he is on the verge of equalling that quite astonishing record. The most intriguing aspect of this is where he could do it – Sunday sees Rangers travel to Palmerston Park, to the home of long-time bogey side Queen of the South. Despite securing a win there in the playoffs, Rangers nevertheless struggled against James Fowler’s men, and not for the first time.
If Warburton takes his side out to Dumfries and records another good win, not only will he have proven bogey teams are a thing of the past for Rangers (Alloa’s convincing beating dispatched them with aplomb) but he will have emulated the start made by the Great Bill Struth.
Of course, he already has achieved history, by being the only manager other than Struth to win their first seven (Waddell previously came closest with six then a draw), but this would be one step further.
And that, given the rubbish he inherited and what he has had to do in 10 weeks, would be nothing short of astonishing.
Brilliant wat he's done in short space of time, can't wait too watch the team every wkend. Gd times ahead. A proud ger once again! WATP! Mark warburtons blue and white army!
Hope the team do the business in style on Sunday for big Warbs WATP
Struth is our greatest without doubt
TBH I dont think it matters who we play this year we need to win them all , Well in the league anyway, Then we can back to the prem as quick as poss, I would love it if we could win the Scottish Cup and could get into Europa league next year!! But 1 step at a time, it really is a good time to be a bear [or a MAlmo fan}
Much as I'm enjoying the football, that stat is irrelevant. It's like saying McCoist won more league titles than John Greig and Willie Waddell
Warburton has been a breath of fresh air. Rangers fans have not only had it hard off the park its been so so long since we have been able to be proud of how the team play on the park. Every fan i know cant wait until the next game. I hope the record is smashed well and truly . In Warburton we trust.
our club has always had great managers (EVERY ONE OF THEM) and all had our great club rangers at heart and that will go on,, WATP.
Not everyone of them ,much as I loved Ally he was not a great manager ,he worked through the most difficult time the club has ever been through (disaster aside) but a great manager NO
Lets not forget Davie Weir he must have been a huge influence on Warburton's decision to come to Rangers
this guy has a long way to go before he can be compared to bill struth,smith,waddle or Wallace,we have played nobody yet,get a grip.
It's early days but the signs are good so far. I'm just a bit nervous about next season as a lot of these loan players will be back to their clubs next season
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Warbs may not have achieved great rangers manager status yet ( lets be honest, it is early days) but i think we can all agree that his journey so far on football has been nothing short of outstanding. His time at brentford clearly showed the intellect he has for the beautiful game, his development of youth players is top class and the connections he has made with top EPL managers shows how highly thought of he is. Once the trophies start to fill the cabinet again warbs will prove he IS one of the greats and equalling the record against QOS is the right way to start the journey…in warbs we trust..WATP
Sorry fellow gers didnt look like my first comment went through there hense the 2nd comment…WATP
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