Ibrox movement on Freedman and Fergie
DOUGIE FREEDMAN has again been backed for the Rangers manager’s job with the bookmakers.
The former Nottingham Forest boss, currently out of work, was linked heavily with the role prior to Mark Warburton’s appointment in June 2015.
And the Glaswegian is now being viewed as a possible contender to replace him following his departure, alongside the likes of Alex McLeish, Frank de Boer and Billy Davies.
“We have had to introduce Freedman into the betting at 16/1 following several inquiries from our clients,” said Paul Petrie from McBookie.com.
“The size of the job has been reflected in the amount of interest, with plenty of people having different fancies.
“One man who has been particularly popular is former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew, who is now into 8/1 third favourite.”
The rumour mill stopped spinning Warburton’s shock exit.
And another name linked to a move to Ibrox is former captain, Barry Ferguson.
Currently manager of Clyde, it’s believed the 39-year-old could return to the club in a coaching capacity.
Meanwhile, interim boss Graeme Murty said his experience with Reading was a perfect example that the director of hasn’t since football/manager combination can be a winning one.
The Light Blues have announced they will seek to both appoint a new boss and reinstate the additional tier of management to the club.
There has been scepticism in some quarters about the advisability of the move with critics pointing out the man who picks the team should be given freedom to operate as he pleases.
For Murty, the key lies in being absolutely clear what job each man should be doing.
“At Reading, we won a league and got into the Premiership – which was way above our pay grade,” said the 42-year-old.
“The director of football was my former team-mate, Nicky Hammond, and, as far as I am aware, he was there purely to support our manager, Steve Coppell, and help him in his role.
“I am talking about informing him of boardroom decisions and giving him ideas on recruitment.
“But, ultimately, it comes down to the manager picking the team and the team going out there and performing on the pitch.
“As I say, I played in the same team as Nicky so it was really quite strange to see him on the training pitch in his director of football role. To be perfectly honest, it didn’t happen very often.
“The manager was in charge of football matters and we walked on to the pitch in no doubt as to what we were trying to achieve every week, through the manager’s message.”
The former Scotland internationalist made the point that neither role should be occupied by someone who is merely a “Yes Man”.
“They need to be strong people, people who are strong in their own convictions because they need to, behind closed doors, express their views forthrightly,” he said.
“But when the door opens after the meeting there has to be a corporate way forward and we all need to be on board. “You can express your views. “You can disagree, quite forcefully, but you have do so professionally and when we come out the room we are all on board with the same message.
“The club will put the structure in place that they deem necessary to move this club forward.
“We need to do that, to chase the guys in front, narrow that gap and need to put this football club back where it deserves to be – at the top of Scottish football.”