TALKING RANGERS
IT IS a short-term role with long-term repercussions. The impact must be immediate, but the ramifications will last beyond the end of the campaign.
With a maximum of 17 games left this term, and that is assuming Rangers can replicate their run to the Scottish Cup final, time is of the essence at Ibrox.
The departure of Mark Warburton on Friday evening saw Rangers once again fall into a state of flux and uncertainty. In the coming days, the Gers board must provide leadership and look to return a sense of stability ahead of a defining run of fixtures.
Having been thrust into the spotlight and onto the touchline on Sunday, Graeme Murty may well have to take a step back at Dens Park this weekend.
If he does, he will be satisfied with a job done after he marked his debut as caretaker boss with a 2-1 victory over Morton.
It will be Murty that puts the Light Blues squad through their paces this morning but he could well have picked his first and last starting line-up as chairman Dave King and his board look for a solution to the latest problem that has presented itself at Ibrox.
The Under-20 boss may have a win under his belt but he is unlikely to be the man to lead Rangers into the final sequence of Premiership fixtures and to potential Scottish Cup glory.
King confirmed on Monday that the Gers board could look to appoint an interim manager to handle affairs between now and the end of the season and it is Alex McLeish that is the front-runner for a potential Ibrox return.
The 58-year-old is the obvious candidate and would be a safe pair of hands in the coming weeks. Well aware of the demands and standards at the club, McLeish will know exactly what needs to change to ensure that Rangers clinch second spot in the Premiership this term.
He has admitted that it would be tough to turn down Rangers should they make an approach to bring ng him back eleven years after er he brought the curtain down n on a trophyladen spell. The surroundings will be familiar, but the situation will be very different.
Whoever the next man in the dugout is, theyey will inherit a squad that hasas underperformed and a team m that is in need of a run of results esults sooner rather than n later. A new voice and fresh approach may be the catalyst required to bring out much-need improvement from a g group of playerspla that sh should undoub undoubtedly have m more points than they have gath gathered to date. The mission o of finishin ishing second in the Pre Premiersh ship is n not an impossible one, but the rewards for achieving it aren’t likely to be plentiful. A pat on the back and a handshake of appreciation is as good as it could get.
By the time next season kicks-off, the man who occupies the manager’s office in the coming weeks will surely be watching on from afar once again.
The role of interim manager may offer no long-term employment prospects, but the job is still an important one for Rangers. Whoever the Ibrox board put their faith in, it must be repaid with results.
THE problems are clear but there is little time to find the solutions. Rangers are a side that concede too many goals and don’t score enough and both issues must be addressed if they are to see off Aberdeen and Hearts to finish best of the rest.
This is a squad that has had Warburton’s 4-3-3 philosophy drilled into it for months but supporters had become frustrated with the approach and a change could prove beneficial.
There seems little point in continuing with a plan that has failed to deliver on so many occasions this term.
Murty stuck with the same back four as Warburton fielded in what proved to be his final match in charge against Ross County as Philippe Senderos retained his place alongside