Allen sets up scout network but won’t rush next manager

Rangers director of football Mark Allen has stressed the club must take their time to find a new manager.

Allen has announced a new scouting department – featuring former Rangers player John Brown – almost three months after beginning his role.

Director Alastair Johnston last week confirmed Allen would have a handson role in the recruitment of a successor to the sacked Pedro Caixinha and the former Manchester City academy director believes they must do their research. The Ibrox club, who have been tipped to approach Aberdeen boss Derek Mcinnes, know they can’t afford another failure after Caixinha’s appointment seven months ago proved a costly mistake.

Allen told the club’s website: “As you can imagine, it’s something which has come up very quickly, but the one thing I would say is we need to do our due diligence and we need to be sure this process is given the right time to find the right person.”

Allen has appointed Andy Scoulding as his head of scouting. Scoulding previously worked with England, where he was described as a video technician, and moved to Valencia with Gary Neville.

Allen said: “He has been involved in forming highlevel scouting networks and has over 15 years of footballing experience. He comes with a track record of working in high-performance arenas.”

Brown, who has previously worked as a coach and scout for Rangers, will head up their UK department, while Dave Swanick comesinaseuropeanscout havingperformedthesame role for Aston Villa. Billy Mclaren moves internally from an academy role to help recruit young players.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland manager Michael O’neill, preparing for a World Cup play-off against Switzerland, has played down talk of him becoming the next Rangers manager. “It’s not a distraction for me at all,” he said. “My attention is here and trying to get my country to a World Cup finals.”