Dave King and his directors may not have made up their minds yet on Graeme Murty
In the build-up to today’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final, a lot of the focus has been on Graeme Murty’s future as Rangers manager.
A lot of that is down to the statement released last Monday by chairman, Dave King.
In a message to coincide with the Ibrox club’s season-ticket renewal launch, King stated that he wanted to appoint a gaffer who would give the club the best possible chance of immediate success.
For me, that quote is perfectly obvious and accurate.
Some have interpreted it to mean that Murty will not be given the job on a permanent basis, and will be replaced at the end of the season – if not sooner.
Only King and the Rangers board will know if that’s true.
But what I will say is that I think they may not have made up their minds as of yet.
So that means Murty is still very much in the running.
If it turns out that he is identified as the best person to take the club forward, then I don’t have a problem with that.
Of course, if Rangers were to defeat Celtic this afternoon at Hampden Park, that would most certainly enhance his chances.
And, if he wins the Cup and finishes second in the league, then Graeme will have put himself in an unbelievably strong position.
However, again, nothing should be taken for granted in football.
Rangers may well discuss – and meet – other candidates between now and the end of the season, and if one jumps out at them, they are well within their rights to appoint that person.
At the end of the day, they will do what they think is right for the football club. This will not be about what is best for a certain individual.
A football club can only be successful, on and off the park, with the right people in the right places, from the boardroom down to the manager and his backroom staff.
Rangers only need to look across the city to see the successful operators they have in the boardroom at Celtic Park, from majority shareholder Dermot Desmond to chief executive, Peter Lawwell.
They also have a very knowledgeable and successful manager in Brendan Rodgers, a man who delivered every domestic trophy in his first season and is, potentially, only three victories away from completing back-to-back Trebles. So the decision on who should be the next manager of Rangers is an absolutely massive one.
The importance of it cannot be understated. It should be one that shapes the club for the next three years, as Rangers can’t keep replacing managers every season.
However, this situation should not be played out in public. Rangers must get on with their business in private.
In terms of Murty himself, he will give his own position no thought as he prepares for today’s game.
He will be totally focused on preparing his team, tactically and mentally, for this game. He will need his team to be solid defensively, as individuals and collectively.
They cannot, under any circumstances, have a repeat performance of the way they defended against Celtic at Ibrox last month when they conceded three goals.
They were guilty of being naive and were horribly exposed.
Today their players need to step up, take responsibility and show leadership.
That’s exactly what several players do for Celtic – and no one more so than Scott Brown.
The skipper has been fantastic again this season, and he has the ability, mentality and confidence to dictate proceedings this afternoon.
He sees the middle of the park as his domain and he will take some shifting.
Is there any player in the Rangers team capable of dominating him? I’m not so sure.
That’s mainly why I fancy Celtic to win the game.
But I don’t expect it to be a straightforward afternoon for Celtic.
I believe in the past two games between the clubs, the 0-0 draw at Parkhead and the 3-2 win for Celtic, that it has been demonstrated that the gap between them is closing.
I accept you could argue that may well be as much down to Celtic not being as good as they were last season as Rangers improving.
But there is no doubt Rangers are in better shape now than they were six months ago.
They have brought in two or three good players in the transfer window, and that reflected well on Murty and the director of football, Mark Allen.
I expect today’s match to be an absolute cracker.
Both sides will be desperate to win for themselves, their families, the club and the supporters.
But there has to be a loser today, and it will be a feeling of utter emptiness to come off the park without a victory.
In recent times against Celtic, Rangers have known that feeling far too often.
Scott Brown has been fantastic this season and has the ability, mentality and confidence to dictate today’s game