Rangers should’ve targeted Jose Mourinho after sacking Philippe Clement, according to former Scotland winger Pat Nevin, who now believes Sean Dyche is the man to take over at Ibrox.
Mourinho was rumoured to be of interest to the Rangers board over the summer before they opted to appoint Russell Martin as head coach. Martin’s 123-day tenure ended on Sunday with the club eighth in the Scottish Premiership table, nine points adrift of Celtic and 11 behind leaders Hearts.
The search has started for a replacement for Martin but Nevin thinks the best candidate has already got away. Mourinho was sacked by Fenerbahce in August but reappeared three weeks later at Benfica.
“I maintain that the club missed a huge chance by not trying with José Mourinho after they sacked Philippe Clement – that would have been an excellent appointment,” Nevin told online betting site BetWright.
If not Mourinho, then Dyche is the next-best fit – Nevin
With Mourinho off the market, Nevin thinks Sean Dyche would fit the bill, despite concerns from fans that his safety-first brand of football would fail to bring the good times back to Govan.
“I think Sean Dyche should be considered for the Rangers job; I rate him very highly,” he added.
“Dyche would bring some structure and organisation to the team, even if the fans wouldn’t necessarily fall in love with the style of play. But they’d quickly get onboard if the club went on a good run of form! I don’t think there’s an obvious choice for the club, but I can’t see the club looking at a manager already in Scotland.
“Steven Gerrard was the last man to win the league for Rangers; he was the fly in the ointment for Celtic. I know some fans weren’t convinced by him at the end, but that’s what happens with managers.
“I’ve been in the position where I’ve had to choose managers before, and the most important thing is thinking with your head and not your heart. Gerrard and Barry Ferguson are both big names in Scotland – but if neither are the best option for the club, they shouldn’t be appointed. The club should always go for the best candidate for the job, regardless of the name.”
‘Rangers are like Manchester United’
The frequent merry-go-round in the Ibrox dugout means the club now have a squad of players brought together by a collection of different managers that are struggling to gel.
Nevin said: “Rangers are starting to become a bit like Manchester United. There’s been so many changes to players and managers – just like United – and they aren’t settling. They’ve got a ‘Franken-squad’; there’s players that were brought in by various different managers, and that doesn’t help the squad either.
“As a player, you want to be in a stable environment and avoid dramatic changes at the club, whether that’s a change in position or role in the team. Each manager that comes in has an idea of how they want the team and individuals to play, so a player could be asked to play a completely different role to what they’re used to, in order to match the manager’s style. That can end up being disruptive to the team, and we’ve seen a bit of that at Rangers in recent months.”
We see a great opportunity ahead – club chiefs
Derek McInnes and Kevin Muscat have also been linked with the vacancy and the club’s chairman Andrew Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe wrote to the fans last night in a bid to ease the anger at their current predicament.
They said: “A rigorous, thoughtful recruitment process is already underway, and we are treating it with the urgency it deserves. The two of us are deeply involved, and the evaluation will have our full attention until we are confident we have a leader with the character and skillset to deliver results.
“Change is never easy. But we are not deterred by hard work – in fact we see a great opportunity ahead. The season is not over and we have plenty to play for in all four competitions. Together we are committed to delivering the performances and results that you can be proud of.”
