Bring in a director of football? Nonsense. McInnes as gaffer? Too thin-skinned. The Wright man for Rangers is Tommy
RANGERS can’t afford to get this next move wrong so they have to go for Tommy Wright.
I thought last weekend when the news first broke about Mark Warburton leaving Ibrox the St Johnstone manager was the ideal candidate to step into the void.
Events of the past seven days have merely strengthened my view. As far as I’m concerned it’s an absolute no-brainer.
Let’s deal with something right away. Talk about the likes of Frank de Boer and Alan Pardew coming in is bonkers.
There’s no chance these guys would consider taking the Rangers job at the moment. For a start, the club doesn’t have the money to pay the type of wages they’d be demanding.
And even if they somehow fund their appointments it would empty the piggy bank and leave the manager without a penny to spend while trying to outwit Brendan Rodgers who will have about £30million in the bank to play with.
And that’s before Moussa Dembele is sold for another £30m-plus at some point soon.
Rangers are not going to appoint a big-name manager and anyone who thinks they can or will needs to get their head out of the clouds.
The club is facing a big decision and needs a man who can be trusted to do the very best with what’s at his disposal.
I can think of no one better equipped than Wright. This talk of directors of football is also a load of nonsense.
The only reason you would appoint one is because you are employing a boss you don’t really trust to take care of the whole footballing department. Dress it up any way you like, that’s the bottom line.
Rangers don’t have much cash to play with so if you appoint a director of football what are you left with to fund a coach’s salary? It would be peanuts and that’s when you end up with a monkey.
Of course cash is an issue. We don’t even know what pay-off Warburton is going to end up with given his statements over the past few days. I think if he pursues the current path he is taking it is absolutely disgraceful.
And it will do his future job prospects major damage. The League Managers Association are a very powerful body. If he’s asking them to get Rangers to prove he resigned he’s got a strong department at his back.
But really, Mark? Are you telling us you didn’t know your agent was trying to negotiate a deal out of Ibrox?
And that you didn’t know a thing about it? These things go on in football all the time and if he forces Rangers to pay up over a discussion like that he’s going to find an awful lot of chairmen south of the border won’t fancy an employee who could do something like that to them in the future.
Incredibly, there are still some people down the road who think he did a good job at Rangers so football-wise the CV is still credible.
But that sort of behaviour will wipe that CV aside when it comes to chairmen.
Anyway, whatever the outcome, Rangers are likely to have to budget for the fact they might need to pay out so the finance for a boss is lowered meaning he would preferably not be a massive earner.
Given the mess of a squad Warburton has left the new guy
Gers fans have seen it. Wright’s outwitted Warburton every time he has played him
is also going to have to get the best out of some underachievers within the current group and also work within a tight transfer budget to get good signings.
He’s going to need to shake the place up and get it into line.
It requires a man with strong discipline, tactical acumen, an eye for a player and a guy who can get results to go with it.
If the supporters are craving a Rangers man into the bargain then Wright fits every single department.
I like Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes as well. He’s done a fine job at Pittodrie but the Dons won’t just let him walk away without a fight and the compensation could rise to about seven figures. That’s a tricky one for Rangers because money is tight and splashing out on that, as well as potentially another £1m to Warburton, is not a good starting point.
I also get the feeling McInnes might be a bit thin-skinned for the job.
For example he had a nip at Eilidh Barbour on BT Sport over something trivial earlier this season and you need a hide like a rhino to put up with the scrutiny you will get as a Rangers manager.
I can’t imagine that being an issue with Wright.
I’m also aware that the compensation required to get him out of St Johnstone would be buttons compared to Aberdeen’s demands.
His achievements at Saints are remarkable. He won them a Scottish Cup.
He’s built strong and consistent squads that have earned a top-six spot and European football season on season and done it with a budget which, to my understanding, is only ninth in the top flight.
The Rangers fans have seen it. He’s outwitted Warburton every time he has played him.
He’s served his apprenticeship, proven himself in Scottish football and in Europe by beating Rosenborg with Saints.
Most importantly he’s affordable and would cherish the job.
This is a time for pragmatism, realism and common sense. It’s the Wright time for Tommy.