Alex Rae wants Alex McLeish to return at Rangers boss; would the pair reunite as coaching duo?

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Rangers are still searching for a new manager following Pedro Caixinha’s exit from Ibrox.

Former Rangers midfielder Alex Rae has told BBC Sport that he thinks the club should re-appoint Alex McLeish as their new manager.

The Gers sacked manager Pedro Caixinha last month after just seven months in the job, with Portuguese boss failing to impress in the Ibrox dugout.

Whilst caretaker Graeme Murty started his second stint of the year with two wins, a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Hamilton Academical again has fans considering outside options.

Intriguingly, former Gers boss Alex McLeish has emerged as the new favourite with bookmakers in the last few days, overtaking Derek McInnes in the running.

McInnes, 58, became Rangers manager back in December 2001 having impressed with Hibernian, and he won 66% of his games in charge of the Gers over a four-and-a-half year spell at Ibrox.

With two league titles to his name with Rangers, McLeish was popular at the time, but after failed spells with Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Genk and Zamalek, fans may no longer be too keen on the prospect of a return.

Now though, former Gers midfielder Alex Rae – who played under McLeish – has told BBC Sport that he thinks Rangers should re-appoint McLeish as he has a proven track record in Scottish football, calling him the ‘ideal candidate’ for Rangers.

“He’s been there and done it and it was under really difficult circumstances,” said Rae. “You had the [Dick] Advocaat era [at Rangers], which was a phenomenal amount of money.”

“Then [Alex McLeish] had to get rid of Barry Ferguson, [Lorenzo] Amoruso and the likes of that, [Mikel] Arteta. Then it was downsized but he still managed to win trophies. The big guy’s class, having worked with him in Belgium, I feel as if he’d be an ideal candidate,” he added.

Having served as McLeish’s assistant manager with Genk, Rae may well see himself as a potential right-hand man for McLeish should he return to Rangers, and whilst turning back to a manager who left the club more than 10 years ago may not seem appealing, the prospect of having two ‘Rangers men’ as a coaching duo may appeal to some fans.