Ibrox job didn’t feel right for me: Cathro
NEW Hearts boss Ian Cathro has admitted that the Rangers job didn’t feel ‘right’ for him when he spoke to the Ibrox club in the summer of 2015. Cathro, 30, who is set for a managerial baptism of fire as the Tynecastle team head for Govan tomorrow, met with senior figures at Rangers before Mark Warburton’s appointment. He was even bookies’ favourite to land the post at one stage but insists he had no regrets about both sides backing
away from a potentially groundbreaking move. Cathro, who became the youngest top-flight manager in Scottish history when he stepped into the gap left by Robbie Neilson this week, said he hadn’t been tempted to leap at the Light Blues’ interest just so he could make the break into frontline management. ‘No, I’m not that guy,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t in a rush to be the youngest to do something. I was in a rush to be good at doing something. I didn’t feel like: “It needs to be now.” It doesn’t. It needs to be right. It needs to be when I’m ready, when the people around me are ready. ‘I’m more focused on being able to be good than being able to be first or being the youngest at something. It doesn’t really matter. This is probably the next 20 years of my life and I want that to have more goods than averages in it. ‘When something feels right, in work or in life, you know. There have been maybe a couple of times where I could maybe have taken that first step but it’s never felt like this (Hearts) felt. So I can just wash everything else away and just be focused and pleased that this is the right place. ‘I think it was publicly documented at the time that there were a couple of meetings (with Rangers) and some chat — but it wasn’t right on either side. ‘Rangers made the step that they did and, so far, I think they’ve done everything they were meant to. So it’s gone well. ‘I’m not really thinking about what might have been. I don’t really know how close it was to be honest.’ Asked if it would have been a huge decision to have stepped into the breach at Ibrox for his first time at the helm of a team, Cathro pointed out: ‘Also from their side. It was a conversation, no more than that.’