CASH ISN’T KEY FOR FRANK IN JOB RACE

Former Ibrox star will put ambition before pay for Gers boss job, says agent

FRANK de B oer won’t be motivated by money and his interest in the vacant Rangers post this summer is genuine.

That was the message last night from the former Ibrox star’s agent as Rangers begin to sift through possible successors to Mark Warburton.

Wages were thought to be a potential hurdle to the former Inter Milan pitching up in Govan. He was on a sevenfigure annual sum during his time in Italy. But his representative Guido Albers doesn’t reckon cash will be a stumbling block. He said: “When he played for Rangers, and you can ask David Murray about this, he didn’t get any salary, he was playing for nothing, because he

was just pleased that Rangers were going to let him play.

“You could imagine 25 coaches who are like that, in it for the money, but you can’t say things like that about Frank because he has never made a choice about money.

“He makes his choices about ambition and what he really wants to do.

“I am not saying that he will work for nothing – for sure he won’t! – but what I am not saying is that money will not make it impossible for him to go there.

“It will depend on everything – the club, the vision, the long-term, the quality of the players, everything like that.”

A move, short-term or long-term, for a Scottish candidate such as Alex McLeish or Derek McInnes still appears more realistic for the Ibrox club as they seek a replacement for Mark Warburton.

But the 46-year-old Dutchman – who led Ajax to four Eredivisie titles in a row before his most recent managerial stint at Inter lasted just 85 days – won’t make a decision on his next club until May at the latest but could yet be open to a surprise return to Ibrox.

Albers – who brokered the deal which saw De Boer arrive at Ibrox as a 33-year-old under Alex McLeish on a heavily appearance-fee weighted contract back in 2004 – said the Dutchman will weigh up all the options that will come his way before making a call on his future.

He added: “Two years ago Liverpool called and Tottenham called and I think for him it is important to take his time,” said Albers.

“But if he had no interest in a job like this [Rangers] he would say no definitely, and he hasn’t done this.

“So if he has a good feeling about being approached by Glasgow then everything is possible,” he added.

“For now, he is not saying, ‘I am not going to do this or not do that’.

“Of course there have been a lot of things that he has said no to before but he is going to put all my options on the table in May and then he will make a decision.

“I had the same with Ronald Koeman. When I brought him to Feyenoord everyone thought that was impossible because of the money, blah, blah, blah. But he spent three years at Feyenoord. And now he is at Everton. It is always like this.

“What they [a partnership between Frank and his brother Ronald] would bring is true football and a vision. So it is important sometimes that they have more time.

“At Ajax it worked because he had a vision and time to create a vision. And I think if he gets the time that he will be successful at whatever his next club is too.

“I am convinced he can go on to be one of the top managers in the world. I have seen him working and seen him succeed at Ajax where there is such pressure to succeed with Dutch players.”