Former Real Madrid defender now second favourite for Rangers job

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Former Real Madrid defender now second favourite for Rangers job


Rangers’ managerial hunt has taken a surprising new twist with the emergence of former Real Madrid defender and Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka as second favourite behind Derek McInnes.

The Aberdeen boss has surprisingly regained momentum at the top of the odds charts despite his dismal performance at Ibrox on Wednesday, but it is the sudden appearance of the ex-Bilbao stopper in second that is the most eye-opening.

Karanka spent four years at the Riverside, with a respectable 48% win record, and was assistant at the Bernabeu to Jose Mourinho for three years during which they won the league and the cup.

The 44 year old has been out of work since leaving England earlier this year, with a sacking to blot his copybook, but Middlesbrough’s back line was only behind four teams in the division as the best on offer.

Whether this Spaniard is the right man to take the reins at Ibrox is quite open for debate.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Better option than most mentioned so far.

    DR talking pure pish yet again McInnes will be paraded next week because DK says SOME of the candidates are under contract, someone needs to raise that paper to the ground.

    McInnes can't outwit a youth coach he tried 3 times and got his arse torn.

    Still hope it's De Boer for me!!
    Getting sick 2Fuk of all this now wish it was all behind us!!!!

  2. On 13 Nov ‘13, Karanka was appointed manager of Championship side Middlesbrough, replacing Tony Mowbray.

    On 25 Apr ‘15, in the club's penultimate game of the season, Karanka sent goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos forward for an added-time corner kick, with the score 3–3 away to Fulham: with the goalkeeper out of position, the opponents scored a winner through Ross McCormack, which sent Watford into the Premier League and jeopardised Middlesbrough's own chances of promotion.

    He did qualify his team to the play-off final after a 5–1 aggregate win over Brentford, but they lost the decisive match 0–2 to Norwich City at Wembley Stadium.

    On 7 Aug ‘15, Karanka signed a new four-year contract and Boro were consistently in high positions during the campaign, but on 11 Mar ‘16 he unexpectedly left the training ground after an argument and considered his future at the club.

    Responsibilities for the subsequent match, at Charlton Athletic, were handed to his assistant Steve Agnew, but the Spaniard returned to lead the team to the top division after a seven-year absence, as runners-up.

    In 2016–17, Karanka led Middlesbrough to the last eight of the FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Manchester City. He was sacked on 16 Mar ‘17, with the team three points from top-flight safety and without a league win in the new year.

    Their defence was the fifth-best in the division and their attack was the worst with just 19 goals from 27 games, and he had disagreements with players, fans and the board.

    The club and manager parted ways by mutual consent, as the latter believed he could take the team no further.

  3. With a good track record or not, is he the right person to be in charge of a much bigger team, potentially than Middlesbrough?
    Do we really want another manager who knows nothing or only what he reads about Rangers? I amongst many cannot answer any of these questions and the new manager has a difficult task in turning our club around.
    I have said all along, in my opinion, there is no-one around that has the knowledge of the Scottish game, experience in managing such a huge club as Rangers available at the moment. Those who have been touted to take the job like McLeish, who meets both criteria, but isn’t popular with Rangers fans, McIness has done a capable job at Aberdeen, but has no experience of managing a club as big as us, yet both McLeish and McIness do know what the club is about.
    Karanka and others the bookies have put into the frame with the exception of McLaren have never managed at a really high level and do not know the club or its history.
    No matter who is appointed, some Rangers fans will be upset, others will shrug their shoulders, some will be accepting and others delighted. Whoever the board appoint, we as Rangers fans must get behind him and back him, with the hope he will drive us on and progress back to being the formidable challenger for all competitions and be the team all others have to chase.