Glasgow Times

Weneed astrong leaderin dugout...

- By CHRIS JACK

STEWART ROBERTSON admits Rangers need a “strong character” in the dugout as the Ibrox board search for Mark Warburton’s successor.

The 54-year-old quit the club on Friday night after less than two years in charge and left Rangers third in the Premiershi­p standings.

Gers chiefs are now planning for the future and managing director Robertson knows what qualities the preferred candidate must possess.

He said: “I think we need a strong character with a strong mentality. Someone who understand­s and gets what Rangers is all about.

“Whoever comes in is going to get the backing, there will be financial resources in terms of taking the club forward.

“But most of all we need someone who is a winner and someone who gets what this is all about and what Rangers is all about, which is winning.

We are looking for the highest calibre possible, a club of this standing deserves the

highest quality of manager.

“We need someone with character and someone who can work under the pressures that they will face working at Rangers.

“There is a lot of expectatio­n at this club and a lot is demanded of you as the manager of Rangers Football Club and it needs a special kind of individual to work under those conditions.

“He’ll get great support from the board and the supporters will get behind them.

“We are looking for a top guy to achieve our plan to take the club right back to the top.”

Rangers are 27 points off the pace being set by Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Premiershi­p this term and it is the battle to be best of the rest that is their main focus in the coming months.

And Robertson insists the next man at the helm will be given funds to bolster his ranks as part of the next phase of the Ibrox rebuilding job.

He told RangersTV: “I think it depends on the individual and you just need to get that right fit.

“There is no doubt that the world has changed from the way that it was 30 or 40 years ago when people tended to stay with one club for longer.

“You see it with players as well as managers, but I think we can get the right guy and give him the right working conditions and back him with the resources, which will be there.

“There will be resources there to back the manager coming in in terms of strengthen­ing the squad.

“Hopefully next year there will be European football and we will need to strengthen the squad for that.

“Hopefully we will have someone who is here for a few years, that would be the preference, but you never know what is round the corner in life as we’ve seen recently.”

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